


No Girls Allowed

by Schnickledooger



Category: Digimon - All Media Types, Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Humor, Romance, Season 02 timeline and events, Tri does not exist in this universe, do not fear the dub names it does deter from the writing, first ten chaps are humor enjoy while you can bc after that the emotional roller coaster begins, im getting close to the end, posting this story slowly in chapter blocks every week, this fic is ten years old and still going
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:49:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 68,945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28059474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Schnickledooger/pseuds/Schnickledooger
Summary: Jun keeps popping up in the most unexpected places. Tai is not pleased, especially when it gives his friends the wrong impression. Agumon's obsession with Plato and BlackWarGreymon is not helping things. The media keeps representing the Digimon as an alien invasion. His Literature teacher likes to steal his haikus. Yeah, Tai's high school days are chaotic.
Relationships: Motomiya Jun/Yagami Taichi | Tai Kamiya, Yagami Taichi | Tai Kamiya & Agumon, Yagami Taichi | Tai Kamiya & BlackWarGreymon, Yagami Taichi | Tai Kamiya & Chosen Children | DigiDestined, background Sorato
Comments: 1
Kudos: 13





	1. Revenge

In the matter of most things, Jun Motomiya should not have been on Tai's List of People To Worry About. For one, he was her little brother's idol whom he hero-worshiped so he should already be labeled as "uninteresting goggles-obsessed freak" material. Two, she had a not-so-secret crush on his best friend, Matt, which she daily demonstrated by stalking his every movement, song, and merchandise that he produced. Three, she was a year older than him and the rest of the Digidestined and a senior in high school. Four, she didn't even _attend_ their high school in the first place, so at least poor Matt had a bit of respite from her crazed fangirlish tendencies that she lavished shamelessly upon him. That was how the world turned. She had no reason whatsoever to purposefully seek him out except to press for the object of her affection's whereabouts and future engagements.

Which happened to be the very reason why she barged into the boy's locker room after Tai and his team had just finished kicking off the first soccer game of the fall season and were cleaning off.

Tai didn't receive much of warning. It all happened so quickly. One minute he was stepping out of the shower and rubbing down his hair, drooping damp and heavy against his head, and the next his ears were being assaulted by one his teammates' hysterical, high-pitched shriek:

"DUDE! _DUDE!_ THERE'S A CHICK IN HERE!"

And then she materialized from out of the swirling clouds of steam like the Creature From the Black Lagoon to stand in front of him, the sweltering temperature of the locker room combined with the fact that she had run a fair distance to get where she was making her tan skin tone flush a vivid red as she panted to catch her breath.

" _Jun!"_ Tai yelped in mortification, his voice rising several octaves above normal as he clutched the towel down about his head to form a sort of skullcap, and was eternally thankful that he had had the sense to at least wrap a towel around his waist before exiting the showers. _"What are you doing here?"_

"Matt's schedule," the girl managed to get out, breathing heavily through her nose. "I want it. I know you know it. Give it to me now!"

" _You couldn't wait until_ after _I at least put some clothes on before you ask that?"_ Tai shouted in humiliation and irritation.

"Eh?" Jun said blinking as she realized she had caught him in a near state of undress. She didn't even have the decency to act embarrassed. "Oh, come on, don't be a baby," she scoffed quite unfazed as her eyes roved across his bare chest glistening with beads of water. "I have a brother. I've lived with him for over a decade. I think I can safely say there's not much I haven't already seen."

"Taichi, Taichi, man, tell your girlfriend to get out before the coach comes back!" moaned Kitagawa huddled halfway in his locker.

"Yeah, he sees her and we'll all be benched for the rest of the season!" wailed Asama doing the same, hiding behind his change of clothes hanging overhead.

"With the fall tournament coming up? Not a chance!" Tai shot back, extremely annoyed that they dare come to the conclusion that he and Jun were an item.

If Jun felt just as offended as he did, she didn't show it. She had a one-track mind. "Give me Matt's schedule and I'll go away," she repeated reminiscent of a parrot.

"What good would that do you anyway? This isn't your high school!" Tai yelled.

"It will be. I'm transferring here. I've decided to graduate from the same place as my beloved Matt!" Jun explained, clasping her hands to her face dramatically and growing a bit starry-eyed. "One day, I want to tell our children that Mommy and Daddy were childhood sweethearts and that they met and fell in love at their high school. I want to be in every class Matt is in, so I need his schedule, now hand it over!"

" _What?"_ Tai exclaimed in horror, because all he could think of was that Matt was going to either die of shock, demand to be home-schooled, or relocate to another country to continue his education when he learned the news.

The giddy, vacant expression slipped off Jun's face as he turned and glared at him—probably for interrupting some daydream that he most definitely did not desire to know the intimate details of.

"What, you don't think it's possible for me and Matt to have our Happily Ever After?" she asked.

Tai thought it was possible for them to have an _Un-_ happily Ever After, but he was wise enough not to say this out loud.

"Does he have another girl? Someone else?" Jun hissed venomously, running her tongue over her upper teeth, looking as if she might suddenly sprout fangs and suck their blood. "Who is she, the little tart!"

Tai took a step backwards, but she advanced like a deranged harpy on the warpath, grabbing at the sides of the towel that had slipped of his head and had fallen around his shoulders. Giving the ends a hard yank, Tai was jerked towards her with a strangled shout by the pressure against the back of his neck and gulped petrified as she pushed her face scant inches away from his.

"I _demand_ to know who she is. Tell me this instant!" she growled, tracing her fingers up and down Tai's cheek through the material of the towel, letting him feel the threat of her wicked acrylics that promised pain if he didn't comply.

"Wow, Taichi-sempai is so cool!" breathed first year Katsuhito in awe at the scene. "He has an older woman mature in the ways of the world to guide him along!"

"And discipline him when he misbehaves," said another teammate nodding.

"I bet they've had played some fun games," Sano smirked which was the final blow.

That was it. Tai couldn't take it anymore.

"ARE YOU GUYS CRAZY?" he screeched, anger coursing through his veins. A sudden, violent urge to take his soccer pleats and bash them all in the heads until their brains leaked out overtook him, but in order to do that he needed to get rid of Jun's steadfast grip.

"Let go!" he snarled, twisting and turning… and tripping over the bench that was directly behind him and hauling Jun along for the ride.

They fell over backwards with twin cries of surprise and Tai found himself sprawled flat out on his back on the floor with Jun on top of him, straddling his thighs and their faces perilously close…

That was when, of course, the male portion of the Digidestined waltzed into the locker room to congratulate him on his win and see what was taking him so long to come out.

"TAICHI-SEMPAI?" Davis choked, bug-eyed and gaping so hugely, his jaw was almost touching the floor. "W-W-W-WHAT… WITH MY SISTER!"

"Fascinating," Izzy said cocking his head to one side to get a better view.

Joe's eyes were hidden behind the shadow of his glasses but a red bar of color had spread across his cheekbones.

T.K. was shielding Cody's eyes with one hand.

"Tai, if you liked Jun that much, _you_ should have been the one to take Davis home that night instead of me," Matt said, sounding put out that he had had to endure unwanted attention for so long because of that one incident, but a wide grin had settled across his features like Christmas had come early as he gazed down at the two.

" _Maaaaaatt,_ no, this isn't what it looks like!" Jun wailed as she scrambled up from the obscene position and flung herself at him. "My heart remains yours truly now and forever!"

"What the—HEY, YOU! _No girls allowed in the locker room!"_ came the roaring cry of the soccer coach as he made his entrance and spotted the uninvited intruder in their midst.

"I-I-I shall prove this to you! You'll see, one day you will be mine!" Jun cried devoutly as she rushed past him, fleeing in a panic.

"Taichi-san got dumped!" whispered one of his teammates.

"He lost his woman to Ishida—that's gotta hurt."

"Ishida steals all the hot chicks!"

Tai remained where had fallen, stared up at the ceiling and wondered why he had never noticed that the soccer team was composed up of complete and utter imbeciles.

oOo

"You walked in on Tai… and _Jun?_ " Kari said, brown eyes widening in surprise as the boys related the incident to the girls once they had all regrouped outside.

"That's what was taking so long?" Yolei asked.

"Ooh, I want all the sordid details!" Mimi squealed excitedly.

"Especially since I thought Jun liked Matt," Sora said.

"Well, that's the thing—I think she still does," Izzy said. "But maybe she's testing the waters first before settling down, so to speak."

Everyone cast speculative eyes at Tai who was standing off to one side sullenly without speaking.

"Taichi-sempai… _whyyyyy?"_ Davis bawled teary-eyed, appearing very betrayed.

"What are you complaining about, Davis?" T.K. said clapping him on the back. "Think of it this way: if Tai marries Jun one day, then he won't be just your sempai, he'll be your brother for real!"

"Y-yeah?" Davis perked up enthusiastically. "Yeah, that's right! Taichi-sempai, I'll finally have a sibling I really love and admire, yahoo!"

"Of course, that means _Kari_ will be your sister too," Yolei couldn't help adding with an evil grin.

"Oh, yes, how could I have forgotten about that part?" T.K. laughed.

Davis stood stock-still in horror for a few seconds then emitted a small yelp and hurled himself at the older boy, clutching at his arm desperately. "Taichi-sempai, no, don't do it _pleeeeeeeeease!_ You'll still be my brother just not legally! You can't marry Jun, because then I can't marry Kari! Sempai, _sempaiiiiiiii!"_

"Now, Davis, don't go spoiling another man's dream," Matt said smiling like a Cheshire cat. "Tai, I get to be best man at your wedding, right? Hahaha!"

Tai bit the corner of his mouth to refrain from cackling maniacally. He'd see how much Matt would still be laughing once Jun Motomiya appeared in every single one of his classes in the near future.

Muwahahaha.

_To Be Continued._


	2. Backfired

Tai supposed it was all his fourth-period Home Economics teacher for his current position in school at the moment. Jun Motomiya was his cooking partner. He should have been absolutely appalled or horrified when the announcement was made, but he had gotten so used to the bad karma that had attached itself to him ever since Jun had first cornered him in the boy's locker room, that he merely took in this news that whispered ill tidings with bored indifference.

Jun Motomiya was his cooking partner. Was he surprised? No. Probability of flunking the class? Very high. Did he care? Not really. He had been dealt yet another unfair blow in life. So what else was new?

He rested his chin his hand and didn't even bat an eyelash when she took her place on the other side of the table and graced him with a scowl of displeasure.

"You've ruined everything!" Jun hissed at him, her nostrils flaring out like an enraged bull's. "After all the trouble I've gone through convincing my parents that Odaiba High School is more ideal to graduate from compared to my old school and having to wear this _hideous_ puke-green, sailor scout-wannabe uniform—" the girl tugged at the hem of her skirt in disgust, flashing a bit of bare knee, "and attaining Matt's schedule so I can get closer to him—just to have the entire school think I transferred here because I missed my stupid boyfriend, aka _you!_ "

A rumor had started circulating shortly after the Locker Room Incident as it had come to be known about how soccer star Taichi Kamiya and an older girl had taken a tumble in the afore-mentioned locker room… literally. As with all rumors, the true facts were either forgotten or ignored on purposed until that remained were details blown way out of proportion. His reputation had shot up in the eyes of his upperclassmen in any case though. He would have felt kind of good about it, if it hadn't been, you know, _Jun_ that they thought he was with.

"And now Matt's under the impression that I'm not available and dating his best friend and it's tearing him up inside that he can't have me and he's giving me the brush off because of how hurt he is and I can't get him to talk to me and you can't fix things because you and Matt are fighting now and he won't talk to you either and _it's all your fault!"_ Jun wailed in one long piteous breath.

Tai didn't bother trying to explain to her that Matt hadn't much cared for his schedule being given to his number one stalker behind his back and for Tai not telling him ahead of time that Jun was transferring to their school.

oOo

_Three days earlier…_

"My life is officially over!" Matt moaned trudging into their homeroom and slumping over his desk, burying his head in his arms.

"What's the matter?" Sora asked coming up to stand next him.

"My worst nightmare come true, that's what," Matt whimpered, lifting his face so that his friends could see his crazed, bloodshot eyes shining with pure terror. "Jun transferred _here_ —to our high school and she's somehow managed to get into every single one of my extracurricular courses!"

"Wow, that's what I call taking stalking to an all new-level," Izzy said with both eyebrows raised. "How do you know this anyway?"

"She cornered me at my locker and was only to happy to share the joyful news," Matt explained, shuddering at the memory. "She said she was going to make my high school days full of exciting experiences that this would be the time that when I looked back later in life and 'cherish the fond memories of.'"

"Poor Matt," Mimi sighed dramatically. "Love is a powerful thing!"

"What I don't understand is how she knows my entire schedule!" Matt exclaimed, sounding close to cracking under anxiety. "She recited all of my classes by heart and said even if she couldn't take the ones I'm in that she already has had before, we could still meet up in the hallway to have our _special moments!_ "

Everyone winced at this.

"She must have gotten a hold of my schedule beforehand somehow! There's no way being in all my other classes is a coincidence! So how the heck did she—" Matt cut himself off abruptly midway and cast a suspicious look towards Tai who had been watching his friend's rant with calm indifference. "You didn't…" Matt said, his voice taking on a threatening edge to it.

Tai leaned back in his chair and threw a bored look back in return. "Oops," he said humorlessly.

Matt was so furious he lost the ability to speak for a minute.

"That was a really rotten thing to do, Tai," Sora said frowning at him.

"Is this about us walking in on you and Jun?" Izzy asked. "You know none of us really took that seriously. There was no need to do something so drastic."

"We knew it was accident. We were only teasing you," Mimi said.

"I was angry. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision," Tai claimed trying to shrug it off.

"That still doesn't make it right," Sora said.

"Sure, take _Matt's_ side!" Tai snapped.

"So you not only gave Jun my schedule, but you knew she was transferring here beforehand and didn't even tell me?" Matt demanded, his voice trembling with suppressed rage.

"That's right, _I didn't_ ," Tai stated, an anger of his own sweeping over him. "And know what else? I hope she makes your life miserable from now on!"

"Tai!" Sora shouted. "What's gotten into you!"

It was the bell ringing signifying that classes would start in five minutes that saved him. Matt was clutching the edges of his desk with both hands so tightly his knuckles were turning white and the expression he wore on his face closely resembled the ones he used to shoot at him during the several long months in their first stay in the Digital World—piercing blue eyes charged with enough fire they gave off the vibe that they hoped Tai would spontaneously combust in the next few seconds.

Izzy and Mimi had had to leave to go to their own classroom one floor down, both of them being one year younger than the others. Unfortunately, Tai had had to remain in the same room with his two so-called best friends, neither of which was speaking to him now for his deception.

He told himself that was fine. That there was nothing to talk about anyway and that he didn't feel the slightest bit of guilt for what he had done, and tried very hard not to think about the reason why he felt so angry or what had made him give out Matt's schedule, because he knew it hadn't been just about the others kidding him about the Locker Room Incident, and it frightened him on what he would find if he looked too deeply.

It hadn't taken long for the entire school to realize that something was amiss between Matt Ishida and Tai Kamiya, both once steadfast friends now giving each other the cold, silent treatment. Rumors and speculation ran rampant on what had caused this rift… then Jun Motomiya had appeared on the scene and the soccer team had wasted no time in pointing out that she was the girl from the Locker Room Incident who had allegedly dumped Tai and was pursuing Matt and most likely the sudden enmity between them was the result of this complicated love triangle.

oOo

"I've got it all figured out," Jun said bringing him back to the present. "If everyone thinks you and I are a couple, then we'll just have to break up!"

 _That_ jarred Tai into full wakefulness. "What do you mean 'break up'? We aren't together in the first place!"

"That's the spirit!" Jun said clapping her hands together enthusiastically. "Keep up that attitude and more people will actually be convinced before too long! We just have to plan some sort of major scene that will be unforgettable where I dump you."

"What? No way, if anything, _I'll_ be the one doing the dumping!" Tai declared, completely bypassing the fact that he was agreeing to such a ridiculous scheme that he had scoffed at moments ago.

" _No one_ dumps Jun Motomiya, Jun Motomiya dumps _them_ ," Jun hissed, narrowing her eyes at him in warning. "Besides, I deserve some compensation for being labeled with a wild-haired soccer freak as my love interest."

"Yeah, what about me?" Tai retorted. "You think I actually _want_ people to think I'm attracted the psychotic, obsessive type?"

" _Who's_ psychotic?" Jun snarled, curling her upper lip into a fierce scowl, her right hand unconsciously curling around the handle of the chopping knife laid out among the rest of the cutlery upon the table.

"Alright, class, today we will be making tempura. Please gather up your ingredients and utensils listed on the provided sheet and don't forget your aprons and hats this time," their teacher's voice rang out over head in a bored, droning tone.

Tai decided it would be best for his safety and health if _he_ collected the ingredients from the cupboard. Jun's utensil-gathering skills seemed to be already perfected.

oOo

The first ten minutes in was spent in a stony silence with both of them cutting the vegetables up into bite-size pieces and shooting scathing glares at each other over the tabletop.

"What makes you think Matt would want you for a girlfriend anyway?" Tai finally asked, caving in first.

"What do you mean by that?" Jun inquired suspiciously, pausing half-way through slicing.

"I mean it's not like you have much to offer," Tai shrugged. "You guys have nothing in common that I can see. It's like you're chasing him because you like his image and his music, but that only makes you appear like another one of his crazed fangirls."

"What do you know?" Jun cried, chopping the head off a carrot viciously. "That might have been true at first, but now that I've gotten to know him better ever since he took me out on a date—"

"That you practically blackmailed him into," Tai reminded her.

"I've discovered there's more to him than just a pretty face and gorgeous-singing voice," Jun continued on as if she hadn't heard him. "Underneath that cool exterior he tries to portray, he's a very soft-hearted, caring person who holds family values into the highest esteem. I think he would make an excellent father and husband."

"Do you really want to get married that young?" Tai questioned incredulously. "We're still in high school for crying out loud!"

"I'm thinking about the future," Jun stated matter-of-factly. "Of course I will go to college and then get a job, but I want to make sure the man at my side will be someone who supports my decisions and opinions."

"I can't believe I'm having this conversation," Tai muttered shaking his head.

"Oh like _you're_ the expert on relationships," Jun scoffed. "Have you ever _had_ a girlfriend?"

Tai turned as red as the bell pepper he was cutting. "I think we need to heat the oil," he said, his voice squeaking slightly as he turned the knobs on the stove on high.

A sly grin was lingering around the corner of Jun's mouth. "Mmm-hmm, that's what I thought," she said smugly.

"W-what? What do you think?" Tai sputtered, struggling to open a bag of flour so he could pour it into a bowl and make the batter. "I just never had time for one that's all. Soccer and all," he finished lamely.

"Oh, come on. I know lots of girls who dated jocks. I've dated a few myself. Believe me, sports do not take up all of your life," Jun said rolling her eyes. "The only guys who claim that are the ones who want to ditch their girlfriend and can't think of a better excuse. But that doesn't apply to you in your case." Jun stared hard at him for a moment as if assessing him. "Maybe girls aren't your cup of tea?"

" _What!"_ Tai exclaimed angrily, ripping the bag in his hands and a column of flour exploded into the air like a mushroom cloud, covering him in a thin coat of powdery, white grain.

Jun doubled over laughing and Tai opened his mouth to tell her off… and launched into a fit of sneezing and coughing as his lungs inhaled the fine powder.

"A little less playing and more cooking would be prudent for your grade," the teacher warned as she strode past inspecting tables. "Wash up, Mr. Kamiya."

"Oh, don't look so wounded," Jun said after Tai had finished cleaning up at the sink. "It was a joke. You don't have that 'other team' flair at all. I guess you're too terminally shy to ask a girl out."

Tai wondered if he would have to repeat a year if dropped the class now and didn't come back.

Jun was humming merrily as she whipped the flour and water into batter. Listening more closely, Tai recognized it as the tune of one of Matt's new songs.

"So… you've had lots of boyfriends then?" he asked casually, dumping the cut-up vegetables into the mix when she held bowl out to him.

"A fair few," Jun replied loftily, carefully coating each vegetable in the batter. "Why?"

"Matt will be interested to know that you're _experienced_ then, I suppose," Tai couldn't resist saying, grinning as he waggled his eyebrows devilishly.

Payback! Muwahahaha!

"What kind of cheap floozy do you take me for?" Jun squawked indignantly, losing her grip on the chopsticks that was currently gripping a batter-coated vegetable over the hot skillet. The piece fell in from a high height and hot oil up spattered up into the air like a geyser and landed on the girl's arm.

Jun shrieked in pain at the burn and stumbled backwards in an effort to get away from the viciously spitting skillet and bumped into the back of a person at the table behind her.

There was a sickening _crunch_ of a knife slicing into something that was definitely not a vegetable and the boy's horrified, startled scream as they held up a finger dripping with a fluid, red substance.

"I-is that _… blood?"_ the boy's partner choked, her face changing to a nasty shade of green before upchucking her lunch all over the floor.

Another person who was returning to his table with a packet of sesame seeds from the cupboard, crossed the floor, lost his footing in the unnoticed puddle, slipped and fell flat on his back in the mess, realized what he was lying in… and promptly repeated the process.

Retching sounds resounded all over the room as their classmates viewed the scene and those with weak stomachs became violently ill.

In the end, the teacher strode through the sea of vomit to the only two students left standing (the others having collapsed or fled from the foul-smelling room) to level a piercing stare over the bridge of her classes at the gaping Tai and Jun, shell-shocked at how much damage they had managed to produce in less than a minute.

"Need I tell you your grade for this curriculum or can you take a wild guess?" she inquired dryly.

oOo

"So I heard the Chemistry teacher broke down into tears when he saw your names on the roster and realized he had you two next period."

"Izzy…"

"Well, is it true?"

"Izzy."

"There has to be a reason why you both got transferred to Environmental Science 101 all of a sudden."

" _Izzy."_

"There's a pool going around claiming you two would blow up the science lab in less than fifteen minutes if given the opportunity."

"Izzy!"

"Did you know that the student body has even given you a couple-name now? Kamotomiya. Of course, that's such an unappealing mouthful people are combining your first names instead: Junichi."

"IZZY! Wait, how come Jun's name is in front of mine?"

_To Be Continued…_


	3. The Way To A Man's Heart

"Hey, Taichi-san, your girlfriend's looking for you!" crowed one of his classmates during lunch break.

Tai looked up from eating his _bento_ and did a quick sweep of the classroom until he finally caught sight of Jun standing in the doorway doing her own search. Tai stood a textbook upright on his desk and slouched down low in his chair to hide his head behind it and hoped she wouldn't notice him.

No such luck.

"Quit acting like a two-year sulking. We need to talk!" Jun ordered marching over to his desk and yanking his cover away.

"We have nothing to talk about," Tai said turning sideways in his chair, pointedly ignoring her.

"Treating his girlfriend like that—so mean!" one of his female classmates whispered to her friends sitting at their desks grouped together.

"No wonder I hear she's dumping him. What a jerk," whispered another.

"Ah, ah," came a chorus of agreements.

Tai stabbed his chopsticks into his rice irritably.

"Motomiya-san, leave Taichi-san and go out with me! I'll treat you right!" exclaimed a member of the baseball club leaning in too far into her personal space.

" _Too close!"_ Jun shouted swinging her balled hand backwards and nailing a wicked punch to the guy's face without even turning around.

Tai stared at the boy knocked out on the floor, a trickle of blood leaking out of his nose, and then up at Jun who was busy cracking her knuckles in preparation and suddenly felt fear replace the irritation.

"We can do this the easy way or I do the same to you and then haul you out of here by your gigantic, Saint Seiyan hair," the girl growled threateningly.

Tai wasn't sure what was worse: him giving in and following her or his classmates' mad chanting of "Junichi! Junichi! Junichi!" on their way out.

oOo

"Alright, I've thought about it a good long while and I think I've come to a conclusion on how to show Matt my intentions towards him are honest and true," Jun stated as she paced back and forth on the school's rooftop where she had led them.

Tai rolled his eyes where he stood leaning against the rooftop's railing with his arms crossed. He supposed he could have told her Matt wouldn't want to be with her if they were the last two people left on the planet, but he doubted she would believe him. So, in the meantime until she came to this realization herself, he would have to suffer and endure.

"Grandmother has always told me "the way to a man's heart is through his stomach" so I've decided to make Matt a _bento_ everyday and I want to prepare his favorite food, so you have to tell me what it is!" Jun declared in one large breath. "Well?" she demanded when Tai remained silent.

"I don't know," Tai shrugged and it was true. There wasn't anything specific that he could recall Matt eating or any special ingredients he would buy. "Matt is perfectly capable of making his own meals by the way," he felt he should add, remembering all the times he had gone over to his friend's apartment to find Matt fixing dinner for his dad.

"A man who can cook!" Jun squealed excitedly, that now-familiar star-stricken expression floating across her face.

"Yeah, so there's no need for you go through with this crazy scheme of yours," Tai said.

"Wrong!" Jun screeched. "Wrong, wrong, wrong! It is now even more important than ever that I prove to Matt I am wife material! That I can and _will_ do household duties such as cooking even when I know that my husband can perform the same task probably far better! I have to do this! This role Hestia herself has bestowed upon all females! I will do this and I shall _triumph!"_

"Okay, then, have fun," Tai said trying to slink off. Anytime someone started ranting about ancient Greek goddesses it was definitely time to leave.

"Hold it!" Jun cried, snapping her attention back to him. "If you don't know Matt's favorite food then you will just have to ask him and find out!"

"If you hadn't noticed, he's not exactly talking to me at the moment," Tai said refreshing her memory.

"You're just going to have to apologize and make up then," Jun stated matter-of-factly.

"I am not apologizing!" Tai exclaimed heatedly. "Besides this is all your fault for coming here in the first place!"

"You apologize to Matt or _else,_ " Jun bit out.

"Or else what?" Tai asked with narrowed eyes.

"Or else… _this!"_ Jun shouted, whipping out a photograph and holding it out in front of her so Tai could see its embarrassing contents.

" _Where'd you get that?"_ Tai shrieked loosing his composure completely, feeling the blood rush to his face.

"I have my sources," Jun stated evasively. "Now go to Matt and apologize and find out his favorite food or I'm posting copies of this all over the school and everyone will see you mooning them with your pink butt," she warned, waving the picture tauntingly.

"You do that to your own _boyfriend?"_ Tai questioned incredulously.

"They won't know it was me. Don't worry, I can act shocked too, see?" Jun said, widening her eyes and opening her eyes in a little 'o' of surprise. "Now are you going to quit stalling and do what I told you?"

"Or I can just take the picture from you instead," Tai declared.

Jun raised both eyebrows, locked gazes with him… then stuffed the photograph down the front of her uniform in the space of a heartbeat. "Try it if you dare," she invited him taking a bold hands-on-hips stance.

Tai stared at her for several seconds, shook his head in disbelief and turned to go.

Before whirling back around and lunging wildly at her.

Jun let out a startled scream and dashed into the rooftop entrance, fairly sprinting down the stairwell, Tai fast at her heels.

" _You would attack a defenseless girl?"_ she screeched double-jumping steps.

"YOU'RE NOT A GIRL! YOU'RE A DEMON! AND YOU'RE CERTAINLY NOT DEFENSELESS!" Tai bellowed enraged.

In a manner that would put a pro-football player to shame, he leaped forward and tackled her around the ankles sending both of them crashing through the second floor exit door. The landed in a heap on the floor both winded from their abrupt flight. Tai recovered first and in a flash he was sitting on top of her legs so she couldn't move and patting down her sides trying to feel where the photograph was.

"Yaaaaaaaaaaaah! Pervert! Taichi-san is a pervert!" shrieked a female on-looker pointing at him.

"S-s-sexual harassment!" shouted another.

"Where do you think you're touching?" Jun yelled as Tai's hands roved a little too high for comfort, and with a snap of her head she had sunk her teeth into her assailant's arm like an ill-tempered billy goat.

Tai rolled off her with a pained cry and then Jun was standing over him attempting to smash his head open like an eggshell with her feet. She managed to score one hit of her heel to his eye before the teachers' cavalry arrived at the scene and pulled them apart.

oOo

"Are they really suspending you for sexual harassment?" Matt asked intrigued as he stood by Tai's bedside in the school's infirmary.

"They were going to until Jun laughed in their faces and said if that was sexual harassment my future wife was going to be very disappointed," Tai said in too much pain to question Matt's presence, his left cheek sore and bruised from where Jun had kicked it earlier. "Then she somehow convinced them we were practicing a skit for the school's Talent Show, so all they did was warn us to practice somewhere else next time. Why are you here anyway?" he asked looking at him through a swollen eyelid. "I thought we were fighting."

"Hey, don't get me wrong," Matt said. "I'm still mad at you and think you haven't suffered _nearly_ enough, but I can't help feeling sorry for you. It's got to be rough being Jun's boyfriend."

"God, Matt, don't you start on me now too," Tai moaned. "It's bad enough with everyone else thinking that. Give me a break."

"Any chance on you sharing with me what you were 'sexually harassing' her for?' Matt questioned with a grin.

"Remember that trip all of us took up to Honshu to visit the hot springs and they had that tourist attraction where you could put on a Macaque monkey costume and take pictures of and you told me not to do it because things like are liable to come back and haunt you when you least expected it?" Tai asked.

"Yeah…" Matt said slowly.

"Well, you were right," Tai grimaced.

"How did Jun even know about that much less get a hold of one of those shots?" Matt wondered.

"She's the spawn of Satan. She's omniscient. She can walk through walls and crawl through tvs," Tai rambled breaking out into a cool sweat as he hyperventilated.

"Calm down," Matt said. "Why was she threatening you with that anyway?"

"She wanted me to apologize to you and find out your favorite food so she can make you _bento_ and show off her wifely attributes," Tai shamelessly told.

" _Bento?_ I'm going to be stuck eating her cooking until she graduates?" Matt shuddered at the thought.

"Sorry, she's relentless."

"Well, just make something up," Matt said. "Tell her something that's too much trouble to prepare and maybe she'll give up. Something like onigara-yaki."

"Lobster? Are you serious?" Tai asked. "Oh, the fame of a celebrity _is_ going to your head, isn't it? You sure you still want to attend this school and mingle with such commoners?"

"Shut up," Matt said, clamping down on a grin. "So… would you have?"

"What?"

"Apologized. If, you know, you hadn't lost your head and started sexually harassing people," Matt said looking everywhere but at Tai.

"Heh… I dunno. Maybe," Tai replied, fingering the hem of his bed sheet. "Maybe… I'm apologizing right now?"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Okay."

"We're cool?"

"We're cool."

They stayed there in an awkward silence shooting sheepish smiles at each other, each one reading _I missed you,_ and somehow Tai found himself feeling very grateful towards the circumstances that had put him there. Because, really, compared to gaining a friend back, gaining a sore jaw was nothing.

oOo

"Why do _I_ have to eat it? I thought you cooked it for Matt!"

"I can't just feed this to Matt! I've never cooked lobster before! What if I give him food poisoning? Now open up!"

"I _refuse_ to be your guinea pig!"

"Get back here this instant, you coward!"

"It's not a matter of cowardice! It's a matter of survival and self-preservation!"

"Remember the picture, you pink-cheeked, furry baboon!"

"Damn yoooou!"

_Fwumph!_

_CRASH!_

"KYAAAAAAH! TAICHI-SAN IS AT IT AGAIN!"

"SEXUAL HARASSMENT!"

_Riiiiiip!_

"HAHA! THE EVIDENCE HAS BEEN DESTROYED!"

"I HAVE NEGATIVES! NOW TAKE IT LIKE MAN AND EAT THE BOILED CRUSTACEAN!"

_To Be Continued…_


	4. Love Is A Jealous Thing

"Oh, Tai, it's for you!" his mother called out one evening after picking up the phone.

Wandering over, Tai should have noted the smile his mother was trying to hide and the strange glint in her eyes as a warning sign, but his mind was still scrambled from an hour of math homework. So without thinking, he took the phone from her and greeted a bleary "Hello," into the receiver.

"How did Matt like my onigara-yaki?" Jun's breathless, excited voice crackled across the line.

"How did you get this number?" Tai demanded his senses springing fully awake. Noticing that his mother was watching him from the kitchen while pretending not to, he turned around so she couldn't see the annoyed expression on his face.

"Davis," Jun stated as if it weren't already obvious.

"Remind me to kill your brother next time I see him," Tai said keeping his voice low so his mother couldn't hear.

"Oh, the little twerp doesn't even know. I snitched it from his address book. Now tell me if Matt liked my _bento!_ " Jun pressed insistently.

"Uh…" Tai said not sure how to tell her Matt had just thrown it away without trying. He had thought that was unusually cruel thing to do even if it had been Jun who had cooked the meal, but Matt had claimed he wouldn't have put it past the girl to have struck a deal with a _kitsune-tsukai_ to cast a magic love spell over it and that it was safer if he didn't eat it.

Jun drew her own conclusions from his hesitance. "He hated it, didn't he!" she wailed. "I knew I cooked it too long! And Mom wouldn't let me have any sake to marinate it in! What's he going to think of me now that he's found out his future wife can't even make his favorite food! _Waaaaaah!"_

Jun's miserable sobbing drifted into the air quite loudly and Tai heard his mother cluck disapprovingly no doubt thinking he was the cause of it. "No, no, that's not it!" Tai said trying to console the girl. If she didn't stop caterwauling he was going to get an hour-long lecture on the consequences of making females cry. "He thought it was good! He's just… changed his mind on what food he likes the best, that's all!"

Jun's crying trickled into sniffles. "Really?" she asked hopefully.

"Yeah. He likes tsukimi udon now," Tai said naming something from the top of his head.

" _Tsukimi udon?"_ Jun said in disbelief, her voice climbing several octaves higher. "I can't make a _bento_ out of that! That has broth and a raw egg and has to be eaten fresh!"

"Mmm, too bad, huh? Okay, bye," Tai said preparing to hang up.

"Wait!" Jun cried making him stop in place. "He's testing me isn't he?"

"What?" Tai wasn't sure he understood what she meant by that.

"This is a test to prove my devotion by giving me a seemingly-impossible task to conquest! Well, I shall show him my faithfulness!" Jun declared stoutly. "My determination will persevere!"

Now Tai was really lost.

"Once Matt sees that I can cook anything for him under whatever conditions he will have to realize the truth of my unwavering love for him!"

"Has it ever occurred to you that maybe if you toned down the surprise glomping attacks out of nowhere and the hyperactive tendencies and the obsessive stalking that he might actually consider you more favorably?" Tai questioned wondering if she was really that blind to Matt's brush-offs of her _devotion_ to him.

"That's just him playing-hard-to-get," Jun replied.

Yep, blind as a bat.

"Well, you know it isn't exactly helping you being labeled as my girlfriend at school if you really want to catch him," Tai sighed.

"Oh, I think it's a great tactic," Jun said with an evil cackle that made the hairs on the back of Tai's neck stand on end. "Everyone thinks we're a couple and it's making him soooooo jealous!"

"Are you _serious?_ "

"Why are you so surprised? It's working in your favor too."

"What?"

"I'm sure there are plenty of girls at school who want to date an attractive guy like you and are unable to now because of our little charade. But that's how you know if you really like someone—if you see them with someone else and get jealous. Don't worry, once my cooking wins Matt's heart and we drop this farce, your secret admirers will be free to pursue you."

" _What?"_ Tai was certain he had heard wrong.

"It's just that when you're _not_ pouting like child or scowling like some deranged berserker, your appearance is actually not that bad to look at," Jun explained. "Gosh, you sound like a girl has never called you attractive before."

"Yeah they have, my mother," Tai protested.

Jun erupted into a fit of hysterical, high-pitched laughter on the other end of the line that lasted a good two minutes. Tai wondered why he didn't hang up, especially when the next words out of her mouth were, "Wow, that's just sad."

If his eyes had been lasers, the phone would have melted down into a puddle of plastic from the seething glare he blasted at it.

"What's wrong with girls if they haven't noticed a handsome guy like you wandering around unattached?" Jun continued with a slight giggle in her voice as if knowing she was embarrassing him.

"Er…" If ever there was a time where Tai wished for an earthquake to occur—nothing large or destructive, just a minor one, enough to knock the phone lines out for a while—it was then.

"Now, now, don't go losing your head," Jun chided. "It's just playful flirting. Girls do that to hone their skills. Matt shall remain number one in my heart for now until eternity! Thank you for telling me about the tsukimi udon. I will find a way to serve it to him no matter what the circumstances!"

"No… problem," Tai managed to croak out weakly.

"See you at school tomorrow, Tai," Jun said, a cheerful ring in her tone as she hung up with a _click._

 _I think that's the first time she's ever used my name,_ Tai thought in numb amazement.

"Mou, mou, my own son didn't even tell me he got a girlfriend!" came his mother's lilting sob from behind. "To deceive the very person who brought him into this world—does this mean he doesn't care enough to seek her approval of the girl he has chosen?"

" _Mom!"_ Tai yelped feeling his face burn like it was on fire. "This isn't the freaking feudal era! I can go out with whoever I want to! I mean—not that I _am_ going with her or _want_ to go out with her!"

"Now he yells at me rudely and rebels," his mother lamented. "How have I raised such a brutish ruffian?"

"What's going on?" Kari asked coming out from her room in her pajamas. "Mom, are you _crying?_ "

"Your brother has denied me the pleasure of setting up an _omiai_ for him!" their mother said, weeping openly her face buried in the palm of her hands. "And I was so looking forward to collecting a portfolio of prospective brides! It's not faaaair!"

" _Sixteen_ here!" Tai exclaimed exasperated pointing to himself. "And who decided I was getting married anyway?"

"You would shame this family by children conceived out of wedlock?" their mother cried looking mortified.

"What? No, that's not what I— _never mind!_ WOMEN ARE NOTHING BUT TROUBLE!" Tai screamed stalking into his room and slamming the door.

"Didn't you and Dad elope?" Kari asked her mother.

"That's beside the point," her mother sniffled, dabbing at the corners of her eyes with her apron.

"I think those _taiga_ dramas you watch are going to your head, Mom."

oOo

Sora was waiting for him in front of the school gates looking much pleasanter than the last time he had spoken to her—when and Matt had been fighting. He was glad to see her. Ever since she had quit the soccer team, he had seen less and less of her until most of their time spent together was in classes.

"I'm glad you and Matt made up," she said with a smile.

"How'd you know about that so quick?" Tai asked falling into step beside her as they passed by the inspection guard.

"Matt told me."

"Oh, of course."

"He's happy again. You may not realize it, Tai, but Matt appreciates your friendship very much. He said that if it weren't for you he would have never opened up to people as much as he does now and would still be living in the self-imposed barrier he constructed around himself."

"He… said that?" Tai asked feeling touched.

"Mmm," Sora nodded as they went to their lockers to exchange their shoes for school slippers. "He really hates it when you guys fight. Speaking of which, Tai, about Jun—"

" _Taichiiii!"_ sang out a female voice. The owner was none other than Jun Motomiya waiting by his locker with a carrier bag in her hands, whom upon spotting them, the girl waved one hand enthusiastically.

"Um… see you in class, Tai," Sora said edging away and giving him a baffled glance before heading to her own locker.

"What are you doing?" Tai hissed at Jun as soon as he got within close enough range.

"Upping the game," Jun said pushing the bag into his hands. "Put it in your locker and don't open it 'til after school. You'll understand."

"What?"

But Jun was already off half-way down the hall with a lively skip in her step.

oOo

"I thought it was just a misunderstanding that everyone thinks you and Jun are dating," Matt said once the day was over and school was letting out.

"It is," Tai said opening his locker and seeing the carrier bag Jun had given him that morning sitting on top of his shoes.

Jun hadn't come to his classroom at lunchtime. There had been speculation whether or not the school's most dysfunctional couple had yet another quarrel. Then a few people told about seeing Jun give him a bag earlier and said they were merely being lovey-dovey with such "absence makes the heart grow fonder" nonsense. Tai had done his best to ignore their comments and enjoy Jun's non-existent presence for the moment knowing it wouldn't last long.

"Then why does it seem like you two are really going out?" Matt asked curiously, an odd note in his voice.

"Extremely bad coincidences," Tai muttered, cautiously opening the bag a crack and peering inside.

And everything clicked into place suddenly. Oh, this was going to be fun.

"What a day!" Mimi said coming up behind them stretching her arms in the air. "I had forgotten how much pressure Japanese schools put on you. Maybe I shouldn't have joined that international student exchange program after all. Ooh, I need to relieve some stress. I know! Let's all go hang out together! We haven't done that in years!"

"Can't. The band and me are going to rehearse some new songs," Matt stated as they walked out of the school doors and into the bright sunshine of the afternoon.

"And the computer teacher has requested I come and tutor him again on the finer dynamics of JavaScript and CSS for his website, so that counts me out," Izzy said joining them, sighing wearily.

"Sora?" Mimi asked almost pleadingly, jutting out her lower lip in a soft pout.

"Tennis practice," Sora said apologetically.

"And Joe has cram school—it's not fair! I wanted to catch up with what was new with everyone! I hate being out of the loop for so long!" Mimi cried frustrated.

"Maybe Tai can go with you. The soccer team doesn't meet today," Sora offered as if she were the manager of his entire schedule.

"Sorry, I've made other plans," Tai said, a grin spreading slowly across his face as he reached into the carrier bag and pulled out a motorcycle helmet.

The revving of a motor resounded in everyone's ears as Jun Mototmiya sped down the walkway on her moped, scattering students in her wake and coming to a screeching halt directly in front of them that peeled pavement. The girl hooked her finger on the bridge of her sunglasses and drew them down lower on her nose so she could look at everyone over the top of the frames and cracked a broad smile. "Well?" she asked, motioning to the empty seat behind her with a nod of her head.

Tai wished he had his sister's camera to capture his friends' astonished, open-mouthed expressions as he climbed on the back of the moped and put on the spare helmet Jun had given him. Then he realized to some chagrin he wasn't sure where to put his hands.

"You've already subjected me to sexual harassment. Putting them around my waist is child's play, right?" Jun said as if she could read his mind.

With a laugh, Tai did as instructed. The shock that raced from his fingertips up his arm when his bare hands touched the material of her uniform was unexpected. Icy cool chills were shooting down his spine, but his hands felt warm, burning…

Jun didn't appear to be suffering from the same effects as him. With a cheeky grin, the girl saluted her gaping audience, gripped the handlebars on her moped and burned fuel, leaving a lingering trail of exhaust behind.

"Did you see their faces!" Jun whooped ecstatically as she zoomed down the street, zigzagging the spaces in between cars. "I think they were about to faint! Hahaha!"

"Do you think it's right though? Playing with people's emotions like this?" Tai yelled to be heard above the rush of wind in his face, trying desperately to ignore the heat still flaring in his hands that were wrapped around the girl's middle.

"By the end of tomorrow, we'll both have an answer to our unresolved love, trust me!" Jun shouted.

"I don't have any unresolved love!" Tai argued.

"Careful or your nose is going to be able to reach across Rainbow Bridge!" Jun warned.

The burning sensation in his hands was starting to cool. Tai was relieved as he was unsure of what it meant. He sat in silence wondering if perhaps he was catching a cold and Jun's words from the night before drifted back to him.

" _But that's how you know if you really like someone—if you see them with someone else and get jealous."_

He hoped he hadn't been just dragged into another one of Jun Motomiya's crazy schemes.

_To Be Continued…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kistune-tsukai: "fox-witch". The kitsune-tsukai forms a contract with its fox familiar, typically promising food and daily care in return for the fox's magical services. The fox of Japanese folklore is a powerful trickster in and of itself, imbued with powers of shape changing, possession, and illusion.
> 
> Tsukimi udon: literally "viewing the moon". Udon noodles with chicken broth, raw eggs, leeks, and soy sauce. The raw egg depicts the moon among "clouds" (noodles). It is usually served in autumn. I think it sounds very romantic^^
> 
> Omiai: Japanese traditional custom in which unattached individuals are introduced to each other to consider the possibility of marriage. Usually meetings are arranged by the parents.
> 
> Taiga dramas: year-long, historical fiction television series broadcast in Japan.


	5. Night Out

"Why are we here?" Tai questioned taking in his surroundings where Jun had driven them, which happened to be the front of a shopping arcade.

"Getting a first-hand look at this tsukimi udon," Jun replied swinging her legs over the side of the moped and climbing off.

"Okay, why am _I_ still here?" Tai asked not budging from his seat.

"I thought this shopping expedition could be beneficial to us both," Jun said in a brisk, business-like manner. "You seem to know a lot about Matt being his best friend all. I thought you could tell me his likes and dislikes and help me pick out a present for him. And in return, I could help you out and give you a girl's opinion on where you stand."

"Where I stand on what?" Tai asked on guard.

"On the girl you like, of course," Jun said with a roll of her eyes.

"You're delusional!"

"Then why did you get on the back of my moped if you weren't trying to make someone jealous?" Jun inquired shrewdly, nodding when Tai didn't meet her gaze. "Come on, tell me. We're in the same boat together. Which one was it? That tennis-player or that pink-haired exchange student?

"W-what?"

"Well, as I don't see you hanging around a lot of girls other than those two, then I'm assuming it has to be one of them," Jun explained. "Or are you really trying to convince me that you think girls still have cooties? I'm not buying it."

"You're wrong!" Tai protested. "We're just friends. All of us that you saw. I just wanted to play a practical joke on them since they're still unsure whether or not we're going out—you know, psych them out a bit."

"Okay, fine, deny it all you want," Jun said with a shrug of her shoulders. "Come on, we're here anyway. Let's go eat udon."

" _You_ go eat udon. I'm going home," Tai said getting off the moped and casting his eyes about for the nearest subway station.

"I still have copies of the _pho-to-gra-phuuuu!"_ Jun sung out jauntily fairly skipping down the entrance to the arcade. "Hahahahaha!"

Tai cursed violently and chased after her.

oOo

"Oooh, this shop is buffet-style!" Jun exclaimed wide-eyed as she spotted the cafeteria-style row filled with fried condiments.

"You order over there," Tai said pointing to the guy behind the counter who bowed his head in welcome to the potential customers. "The different types are on the menu overhead and if you want to add anything to it then you go to the buffet."

"You've eaten here before?" Jun asked as they walked over.

"Never tried this place, but I do keep track of where the good udon shops are," Tai stated.

"Mmm," Jun said eyeing him thoughtfully before ordering. "Two bowls of tsukimi udon, please."

They sat at a table while they waited for their order sipping the hot green tea that came with the meal and Jun began pressing Tai for information.

"So tell me how you and Matt met," she said eagerly. "I know it couldn't have been on the soccer field like with Davis, which I'm never forgiving you for by the way. I still rue the day the little twerp came home with those ridiculous, over-sized useless goggles. I can't be seen anywhere with him without getting stares and _not_ in the good way!"

"Heh," Tai said cracking a half-smile. "It was at summer camp five years ago. That's where we all met and became friends."

"Oh, I bet Matt was so cute back then!" Jun gushed. "I wish I could have seen him!"

"I have pictures. I'll trade you for the monkey-suit one," Tai offered.

Surprisingly, the girl didn't jump at the opportunity as he expected. "I'll think about it," she said.

"Are you sure? There's one with him bare-chested in the hot springs," Tai said with a smirk knowing he was only asking for trouble on his end. Matt had threatened everyone to within an inch of death if that picture ever fell into the hands of the media or fangirls.

Jun choked on her tea and started pounding her chest, her face flushed bright red from both lack of air and excitement.

Fortunately, he was saved by their order being served.

"Hey, this doesn't look half-bad!" Jun exclaimed in surprise momentarily distracted by the bowl of noodles and the perfectly round, yellow egg in the center surrounded by chopped leeks.

"The egg is supposed to represent the harvest moon in autumn and the noodles are the swirling clouds, see?" Tai said pointing with his chopsticks.

"Ah, ah," Jun nodded. "Well…"

 _"Itadakimasu!"_ they recited together, clapping their hands in front of them before eating.

"Delicious!" Jun cried after a few mouthfuls. "No wonder Matt loves this!"

Between bouts of slurping his noodles nosily, Tai bit back grin.

oOo

Maybe it was the satisfaction of a full stomach, but somehow the idea of hanging out with Jun at the arcade didn't seem as bad as before. In any case, he didn't try to leave or protest when she dragged him by the arm to visit the various stands and shops along the way. The area where her hands were touching the sleeve of his school jacket was unnaturally hot. They were probably still warm from holding the bowl when she had drunk the broth.

"I want to get Matt the perfect gift! Nothing fancy, just something that shows him I care," Jun stated stopping at a stand displaying sunglasses. "Do you think he would like one of these?"

"Giving gifts is not worth the effort," Tai said irritably. "You spend a lot time picking it out, then they're not appreciated and are taken as insult. For instance, if you give him sunglasses, then Matt might assume that you don't like the color of his eyes and want him to hide them."

"But I love Matt's eyes!" Jun gasped aghast. "His beautiful, ice blue eyes like twin sapphire jewels…"

"Yeah, take it from me, no matter what you give him, he won't like it," Tai stated bluntly.

"Sounds like someone had a bad gift-giving experience," Jun assessed with a raise of her eyebrows.

Tai pursed his lips into a thin line and looked away. He started when a red-tinted film settled over his vision and twin weights were hooked over his ears.

"Don't you look sinister now?" Jun laughed, pulling her hands away from the sunglasses she had just put on him. "Very _yakuza_ -ish."

"Dummy, _yakuza_ wear sunglasses like these," Tai said picking up a pair of thick, black wrap-around shades and slipping them onto the girl's nose.

"So very knowledgeable about that, are we?" she said teasingly. A beam of light from the glass-tiled ceiling above had splashed across her face, reflecting off her sunglasses and illuminating the patch of freckles that ran across her cheekbones. "Must be from involvement…"

"Shut up," Tai muttered feeling off-balanced. His eyesight must be distorted from the sunglasses. Nontheless, he did like the way they looked on him from what he could see in the display mirror. "Oi…" he said to the sales-person.

"We'll take these!" he and Jun called out in unison.

oOo

"Last chance on me giving you advice on that girl you like but don't want to admit," Jun said as the day drew to a close and rays of the setting sun fell through the glass roof to the floor below bathing the inside of the arcade in an orange-red glow. "It's not too late to get a present for her."

"The shops are closing," Tai pointed out.

Time had gone by far more quickly than he had realized. He had never liked going shopping with his mom when he was little and the feeling had stayed with him as he got older. Shopping with females was a dangerous and boring thing. However, it had been almost fun with Jun. They had wandered aimlessly about with nothing in particular in mind, pausing to look at something if it caught their interest and buying it on a whim. It had been amusing stumbling across some _Teenage Wolves'_ merchandise in one of the music stores. Tai had bought her a tiny figurine of Matt to attach to her cell phone to which Jun had been ecstatic. He had every intention of pointing it out to his friend at school the next day and ribbing him over it. They had slowly accumulated several bags of trinkets including the gift that Jun had finally picked out for Matt once Tai had told her that the blond had lost his watch recently and hadn't replaced it yet. Jun had gone and bought him a sleek, black digital wrist-watch on which you could save multiple time-zones, was water resistant and could glow in the dark.

" _It's so very practical too! I'm going to take it home and gift-wrap beautifully!"_ Jun had proclaimed happily.

"Fine, fine," the girl said bringing him back to the present. "Just don't be regretting it tomorrow when you could have given her the gift and confessed your looove!"

Tai sighed. Okay, on some accounts, Jun was still annoying as ever.

"Ooh, a supermarket!" she exclaimed suddenly, stopping in front of the small corner store. "I can get the ingredients for Matt's tsukimi udon here! Hurry, before they close!"

Tai couldn't think up an excuse this time for the familiar heat that ignited under his skin when Jun grabbed him by the wrist and hauled him into the store.

It was dusk by the time they exited the shop and shadows fell everywhere. The arcade was nearly devoid of anyone except a couple of stragglers. Most of the store had already closed and locked up. There wasn't much light except for the overhanging street lamps from the ceiling.

"Guess I'd better go," Tai said, idly chewing on the takoyaki dumplings they had bought as snacks and wondering why he had stayed as long as he had. He could have left after eating the udon. _Oh, the photograph, right,_ he thought in relief. _Thank heavens for blackmail! I'm not losing my mind._

"You should at least walk me back to my moped," Jun said as they walked along. "What if run into some weirdo or perverts— _ow!"_ she cried out in alarm she collided with someone, smearing her takoyaki all over the front of his shirt.

"Watch it, girlie!" growled the young man pushing her roughly away to see the damage done. "You better be able to pay for this! This shirt is _silk!"_

"I'm not paying! _You_ bumped into _me!"_ Jun stated heatedly. "If the shops were still open, I'd make you buy me more takoyaki! Try not to trip over your big ox feet next time, you great lumberjack!"

It would have been funny—this mere slip of a girl standing up to such a hulking guy, not all intimidated by his striped mohawk and nose-ring—if he hadn't happened to have two guys of similar appearance and muscle weight on either side of him.

"Someone needs to teach you some respect, you porcupine!" roared Mohawk swinging a tattooed fist at her.

"Jun!" Tai shouted but the girl was already a few seconds of him, ducking the blow and lashing out with her leg knocking the guy's feet right out from under him, sending him prostrate flat on his back on the floor.

"Who are you calling a porcupine, _skunk head?"_ Jun screamed fluffing her spiked-do lovingly. "You wish you had hair as good as mine— _HEY!"_

One of the fallen guy's companions had attempted to grab her from behind unawares, but all he had come away with was one of the numerous bags had been holding.

" _Matt's present_! GIVE IT BACK!" Jun shrieked in outrage recognizing the outline of the parcel inside, leaping at the guy who held it up out of her reach tauntingly, his height far greater than hers.

A chill shot through Tai as he saw a glint of silver in the remaining guy's hands, his attention fixed dangerously on Jun's unsuspecting back.

"Oi!" he yelled drawing the guy's attention his way before smashing his boat of takoyaki into the other's face blinding him suddenly before attempting to disarm him of the lethal object in his right hand.

Unseeing, his adversary lashed out wildly with the knife that Tai barely leapt back in time to avoid. It sliced across the front of his school jacket, severing a button and Tai ended up tripping over the guy with the mohawk on the ground where Jun had laid him out. The wind having been knocked out of him temporarily, the guy seemed to be recovering if the hands that seized him and pinned him down were anything to go by.

" _You punk!"_ was the furious bellow he heard before a heavy fist nailed the side of his face and stars exploded before his eyes.

"What's going on out there?" came a voice from one of the shops nearby and a light flicked on inside.

The pressure holding his wrists loosened unconsciously at this and Tai rammed his knee up into the guy's stomach causing him to double over wheezing. Rolling out from under him, Tai leaped to his feet, his head spinning dizzily and blinked fuzzily through the spots dancing across his vision until he spotted Jun still jumping upwards in an effort to retrieve her bag from its captor who dangled it over her head reminiscent of a human toying with a kitten over a shoelace.

A shrill whistle split the air warning them of the security guards arrival.

There was no more time. Tai ran forward and head-butted the guy in the gut successfully bowling him over backwards and Jun snatched at her bag on his way down.

"Run!" Tai shouted as the stomp of shoes and waving of flashlights grew closer. Together, they struck off in the opposite direction of the sounds, racing through the dimly-lit arcade until they had reached the exit and were greeted with the sight of Jun's moped faithfully waiting. It was a beautiful sight.

"Get on!" Jun ordered, throwing the spare helmet at him. Tai caught it and put it out without objection, taking his seat behind her and wrapping his hands around her waist.

They sped off into the night laughing crazily, releasing their built-up tension and the blood burning in his veins and his heart beating wildly was nothing more than the after-effects of the adrenalin rush he had just had.

oOo

It was with extreme hesitance that Tai crossed over the threshold of the Motomiya residence and entered the apartment.

"I don't know why you couldn't just drop me off at a subway station," he said feeling awkward to be standing in Jun's home.

"And send you off in that state?" Jun said pointing to Tai's bruised cheek and split lip. "You look like an adolescent delinquent who's been brawling! What would people think?"

"What are your parents going to think when they see the boy you brought home then?" Tai asked.

"My parents are up in Osaka visiting relatives. They won't be back for two more days," Jun said

Tai froze. So it would just be him and Jun… in the apartment… alone…

"Get your mind out of the gutter!" Jun screeched, walloping him in the head with her purse adding to his injuries.

"I wasn't thinking of that!" Tai yelled his face red in embarrassment, holding a hand over the lump he could feel growing on his skull.

"Good because _this_ girl belongs to Matt!" Jun declared pointing a thumb proudly at herself. "If you're really that frightened of being with a girl alone you don't have to worry. I have a chaperone. Oi!" she called out marching over to a closed door and pounding on it. "Creep, I'm home. Come say 'welcome back' to your wonderful sister you adore!"

The door was flung open to reveal a scowling Davis. "You don't deserve a 'welcome back' you— _Taichi-sempai!"_ he exclaimed shocked catching sight of Tai. "W-w-what are you doing here and what happened to your face?"

"That's none of your business, twerp," Jun said pushing past him and entering his room. "Now where is that First-Aid kit I saw you trying to sneak out the other day?"

"Ah, don't touch my stuff!" Davis shrieked grabbing his duffel bag away from her and holding it protectively to his chest.

Tai had a very good idea of why he didn't want his sister to look through it. DemiVeemon was probably hiding in it. "I don't need any First-Aid. I'll just go," he said backing away.

"Sure go home and let _your_ family see you've been fighting!" Jun said whirling on him.

Behind her, he saw Davis open the duffel to let DemiVeemon hop out and scurry under the bed. Then reaching his hand in, he rummaged around before pulling out a square white box with a red cross on top. "Here," he said sourly, shoving it into his sister's hands.

"Don't be such a brainless klutz every time you play soccer and maybe you wouldn't need to hog this all the time," Jun scolded him. "You come with me," she addressed Tai leading him into the living room. "Sit," she commanded pointing to the couch.

Tai obeyed feeling like a trained dog and Jun sat down next to him and opened up the kit.

"Taichi-sempai, did you really get into a fight?" Davis asked enthusiastically. "I bet you won! I bet you kicked their butts!"

"Go away, you pest," Jun said, dabbing a peroxide-soaked cotton ball on the broken-skin around Tai's mouth.

"Ouch!" Tai yelped as the disinfectant burned and he twisted away from her.

"Stay still so I can clean it properly!" Jun snapped.

"That hurts!"

"You big baby!"

The next thing Tai knew he was sprawled out on his back on the couch due to a strong push and Jun was sitting on top of him rubbing the ointment onto his face that seared something fierce. "Aaaaaargh!" Tai emitted a strangled scream, thrashing his limbs about wildly.

"W-w-what are you two doing?" Davis squeaked out, his eyes growing to the size of marbles. "T-T-Taichi-sempai, don't fall into her trap! She just wants someone to take responsibility for her! You wouldn't like her anyway! She snores really loud and eats pudding with her fingers and she spends money like a drunken sailor!"

"I think it's your bedtime, you little brat!" Jun hissed venomously, climbing off her unfortunate victim and grabbing her brother by the collar of his shirt. Towing him to his room, she tossed him non-too gently inside and pulled the door shut, jamming a broom under the handle effectively sealing him in.

"Sempai? _Sempai!"_ Davis' frantic shouts came from within as he rattled the door handle fruitlessly. "Don't give in, sempai! She's a man-eater! _A man-eater!"_

"God, I wish I was an only-child," Jun sighed wiping her brow despairingly.

Then Tai saw the red stain on her upper abdomen marring the green of her uniform.

"You're bleeding!" he exclaimed in a burst of concern that surprised himself.

"Eh?" Jun said glancing down. "That's not _my_ blood," she stated upon closer inspection before doing a double take at him. "You're as clumsy as the twerp!" she shouted annoyed striding over and taking hold of his hand.

"Ah, what are you—"

"Hush," Jun said turning it palm-side up so they could see the thin slash-mark running diagonally across the skin. "How'd that happen?"

"One of the guys had a knife," Tai admitted. It must have happened when he was wrestling to take it away from the guy before he had tripped over the other. The blood had seeped out from the cut onto her uniform when he had put his hands around her waist while riding on the moped.

"Oh," Jun said paling considerably. "Oh… thank you." The girl was unnaturally silent for several seconds before appearing to regain her usual dauntlessness. "Well, let's get that cleaned up too."

oOo

"Are you sure you have enough to make for Matt?" Tai asked standing at the stove, stirring the steaming udon noodles with his newly-bandaged hand.

"I bought enough for four servings," Jun said as she sliced the leeks. "I wanted to practice a bit before I cooked his. So we can eat these for dinner and I still have enough left over!"

"You weren't in class today. I mean you didn't come… to my class… for lunch," Tai said, stumbling over the words.

"I was busy trying to decide my career choices," Jun said, a shadow passing over face. "I have to write down three options and turn them in to the teacher tomorrow so they can help decide which college would be the best for me to achieve that goal."

"Oh."

"You know, you go to school all your life and think to yourself you can't wait until you don't have to, and then when that day is finally on the horizon, you have absolutely no idea what to do," Jun stated grudgingly. "It's easier for people who have skills. Like you, I can tell you want to be a pro-soccer player and no doubt will. And Matt, of course, is going to be a world-famous rock star one day. But I don't have anything I'm particularly good at."

"I hear you're captain of the cheerleading squad," Tai suggested helpfully remembering Davis had shared with everyone about his sister. "You could go professional on that path."

"It's an enjoyable pastime," Jun said. "But I don't want to be doing that until I'm forty and old. I'll look ridiculous!"

Tai was silent for awhile trying to think of something… then a light bulb went on over his head quite literally as Jun reached above him to switch on the stove light so she could better see the pot to dump the chicken broth, soy sauce, mirin, sugar and salt to the boiling water.

"You do have something you're good at!" he exclaimed. "You love taking pictures of the object of your obsession and constantly stalk him shamelessly. You're confrontational, aren't afraid to fight for what's yours, you talk too fast and are annoying—"

"Hey!"

"You could be a paparazzi!" Tai shouted and Jun paused in mid-swing of whacking him with the cooking ladle.

"T-that is…" the girl stuttered pensively, a smile slowly forming and stretching from ear to ear. "BRILLIANT!" she shrieked exhilarated. "You're a genius! Hahahaha!"

Jun collapsed in a fit of delighted hoots that Tai soon joined in, her happy mood contagious. Laughter rang out throughout the apartment complex only broken by the sound of Davis yelling, _"I'll save you, Taichi-sempai!"_ and familiar battle-shout of "VEE-HEADBUTT!" and the door to the boy's room flying off its hinges.

_To Be Continued…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all the upload for this week. Next five chapters next week! Ja mata!


	6. Eternal Darkness of the Cluttered Mind

Jun was squatting on top of the kitchen counter with a frying skillet gripped in one hand raised above her head.

"W-W-WHAT IS THAT THING?" she screamed pointing at Veemon whose head was lowered and who was pawing his back foot on the floor like a bull about to charge.

"Davis, what were you _thinking?"_ Tai demanded.

"I was saving you, sempai!" Davis proclaimed in his defense. "She'll suck ten years off your life if she kisses you—her last boyfriend said so!"

"What made you think we were kissing!" Tai exclaimed _._

"Davish, what exactly do you mean by 'flatter than a pancake'?" Veemon asked his partner, confused about his instructions.

" _They are not!"_ Jun shrieked offended and clutching at her chest before realizing what the blue creature in front of her had just done. "IT TALKED! THE FREAKY DRAGON THING JUST TALKED!"

"Veemon's not freaky! Unlike _some_ sisters!" Davis shot back. "Hurry, sempai, this is your chance to escape while Veemon's got her cornered!"

"I don't need rescuing, Davis!" Tai shouted exasperated.

Everything had been going so well too, and then it had been interrupted…

Tai froze at his train of thought. What had been interrupted exactly?

"W-Why aren't you more surprised?" Jun asked directing the question at him noticing he wasn't freaking out at the appearance of a monster in her home. "Y-You knew about this before, didn't you?" The frying skillet raised above her head was shaking in her hands. "What's going on?"

Tai glanced at Davis. The younger boy was shaking his head vehemently not wanting to divulge any information, but Tai squared his shoulders and began explaining anyway. If Davis hadn't wanted his sister to find out about what he did in his spare time, he really shouldn't blown things out of proportion and had his partner break the door down exposing his secret.

Sometime after Tai had finished giving her the short version of what the Digidestined were, Digimon and the Digital World, a faint glimmer of recollection sparked in Jun's eyes.

"Y-You're those kids from five years ago," she breathed softly, her brown eyes wide. "I remember… when those monsters started appearing everywhere in the city and the ghosts held everyone prisoner at the convention center. You disappeared in a rainbow stream up into this upside-down world in the sky."

Tai nodded soundlessly at her.

"You… and Matt…" she said, her voice breaking slightly. "You have monsters like the twerp…"

" _Digimon,"_ Davis corrected acidly.

Tai nodded again.

Jun sat still for several moments in silence taking all this in until at last it seemed the shock had worn off. And instead of firing off accusations at them of why they had kept this from her or nailing Veemon's head in with the skillet, Jun climbed down from the counter and walked past them, a glazed, numb expression splashed across her face for all to see, and locked herself into her room, the frying pan still clenched tightly in her hand.

A long pause followed before Davis spotted unfinished udon simmering on the stove and promptly threw a temper tantrum.

"SON OF A BAKEMON! SHE STOLE MY NOODLE CART IDEA! I'LL SHOW HER! RAMEN WINS OVER UDON ANYDAY, YOU POOR EXCUSE FOR UNABLE TO THINK UP AN ORIGINAL IDEA ON YOUR OWN SISTER!"

Since it looked as if Jun wasn't going to come out anytime soon even to throw back a heated reply and he had absolutely no idea what Davis was ranting about, Tai decided to take his leave of the Motomiya residence and wondered what the bitter sting of disappointment he was feeling meant.

oOo

Matt was leaning against Tai's locker waiting for him the next morning.

"Would you mind explaining what that was yesterday?" he asked with both arms crossed, looking very disgruntled.

"What was what?" Tai said pretending he didn't understand, waiting patiently for him to move out of the way.

Matt didn't budge. "That thing with you getting on Jun's bike and riding off with her."

"It's a moped," Tai corrected. "And it was a just a joke."

"So you're not dating."

"No, now move," Tai said attempting push Matt aside, but the blond stood his ground.

"You don't have to try and hide it if you are," Matt said. "I'd rather you just tell me the truth than lie."

"I am not lying!" Tai shouted, his hackles rising. "Besides, we have bigger things to worry about than whether or not Jun and I are an item. She knows about Digimon now."

" _What!_ You told her—"

"It wasn't me! It was Davis' fault for ordering Veemon to break his door down and attack his sister."

"Why would Davis order Veemon to attack his sister—no wait, that's a stupid question."

"His excuse is that he was trying to rescue me."

"What do you mean… _you were at Jun's apartment last night?"_ Matt exclaimed flabbergasted and the entire conversation of students walking past them ground to halt.

Tai grabbed his friend by the arm and turned their faces away from the crowd of spectators they had gathered. "She only took me there so she could fix me up," he said in a low enough tone that he hoped the on-listeners wouldn't catch, showing off his bandaged hand and split lip.

"Where'd you get those?"

"From some psycho knife-swinging mohawk groupie at the arcade."

"Why were you at the arcade?"

"She drove us there."

"You went to the arcade… with Jun," Matt said slowly.

"Hey, I know what you're thinking, but it doesn't count as a date. I only ate some udon noodles, walked around and shopped a bit with her," Tai stated factually. "Then we ran into some _yakuza_ -wannabes, beat them up a bit and made a quick get-away on her bike—ah, moped. You should have seen her in action—Jun, that is, not the moped—she laid this one guy out flat with her legs! She's got great legs. Strong, I mean, not slender and smooth even though they are… what?"

Matt was gazing at him in a mixture of horrified and fascinated disbelief. "My god, you have gone and fallen head over heels for her haven't you?"

"Don't be stupid!" Tai lashed out, shoving his friend out of the way to gain access to his locker.

There was no need to tell him about how he had tripped over Mohawk dude in his defense of Jun then. Matt would just take that literally.

oOo

There was a very good reason why Tai was on the third floor of the school during lunch break looking for Jun among the seniors and it wasn't because he was missing her or worrying about her since she had seemed a little out of it the night before. No, it was because he had to make sure she wouldn't tell anyone about Digimon and the Digital World. Not that he thought anyone would believe her if she did, but there was bound to be more kids who remembered the incident with Myotismon holding practically everyone in the Tokyo region hostage at the convention center. He couldn't risk the chance of anyone else making the connection between the kids who had defeated the monsters back then and their identities today. Matt had enough trouble with popularity and fans as it was. This would just pop the bubble on his already inflated ego.

"Jun Motomiya?" a brown-haired third-year girl echoed when he asked about her. "Oh! You're that _kouhai_ boyfriend of hers aren't you?"

"Uh, no," Tai tried to clear up. "That's a common misconception—"

"Omigosh, is that Jun's boyfriend? I wanna see!" squealed a curly-haired girl rushing over quickly. "Oh, how cute!"

"Such adorable hair!" cooed a girl with pixie hair-cut joining them. "I just want to touch it!"

And before Tai had realized what happened, he had become the newest fashion accessory for the senior high school girls to play with. Only able to take their cheek-pinching, hair-ruffling, tie-straightening hands and baby-talk for so long, Tai managed to squirm his way out of the female posse that had formed and ask breathlessly if they knew where Jun was.

"She didn't come to school today, honey. But it's so heartwarming to know that her man cares enough to come and see why his love hasn't appeared before him all day!" a pony-tailed girl swooned dreamily.

"I wish my boyfriend was as considerate as you!" sighed the curly-haired girl.

"Motomiya-san has the right idea to date younger guys! The older ones are too conceited!" stated the girl with the pixie hair-cut. "We should all follow her example!"

Tai decided to leave the classroom then before the glowering third-year guys gave in to their baser urges like staple his fingers to a desk or pour glue in his eyes or by far the most heinous crime ever thought up by mankind: shear off his locks of hair with a pair of scissors.

oOo

So Literature class was an interesting experience for once. Usually, Tai would take naps or pretend to take notes while drawing stick-figure manga as the teacher droned on and on about some Shakespearian sonnet or _The Tale of Genji_ or some other Eastern/Western author or story, but this time the lesson actually held his attention. This current semester, they were studying poetry from all around the world and today they were learning about haikus.

Three line poetry with a syllable order of 5-7-5? God, why hadn't they taught this easy stuff back in primary school? He would have gotten an 'A' for sure back then and those cool Megaman sneakers his mom had promised as a reward for good grades. Instead he had received a 'B-' and he had been banned from playing soccer for an entire month.

Okay, so apparently, he had muttered all that under his breath unknowingly and Sora had heard it and reminded him they _had_ been taught haikus back in primary school but he had been playing his GameBoy on mute under his desk so he had missed out on that lesson.

Well, that certainly sucked finding out. Curse Mario and his magic mushrooms! Curse them! He could have been a mad genius poet by now selling his haikus for millions and millions of yen, that's how easy and natural this stuff flowed to him.

_She can fight weirdos_   
_But freaks at a Digimon_   
_Unbelievable._

_This school is insane_   
_Thinking we are a couple_   
_I do not like her._

_Mopeds are awesome_   
_I'm totally getting one_   
_Screw Mazdas. So lame._

So he had decided to go see how Jun was doing as soon as school let out, but a bit of a knot got tangled up in his plans.

Because he might have kinda gotten sent to have a nice little chat with the principal.

After ripping his sheet of haikus out of the Literature teacher's hands and threatening to kick his ass six ways to Sunday.

But really the snoopy bastard shouldn't have started to read them to the class out loud.

oOo

_Conversation between Tai and Izzy via D-Terminals:_

**Heard you were disrespectful to Takashi-sensei today.**

**-Izzy**

**Idiot teacher**   
**Should not be allowed to teach**   
**Wise students. Dumb jerk.**

**-Tai**

**What's your punishment, Master Haiku Artist?**

**-Izzy**

**Big man on campus**   
**Give me task of trash-cleaning**   
**Second floor classrooms.  
**

**-Tai**

**Ouch. Sorry ;^; At least it's not the entire building right? For how long?**

**-Izzy**

**Starting as of now**   
**Until the New Year rolls in**   
**This is all her fault.**

**-Tai**

**Her? Are you talking about Jun? Matt said you went on a date with her yesterday^w^**

**-Izzy**

**IT WAS NOT A DATE**   
**PRETTY BOY BLOND ROCK STAR LIES**   
**IT WAS NOT A DATE! DX**

**-Tai**

**I don't think the haiku counts if the last line is the same as the first^^;;**

**-Izzy**

**I'M THE HAIKU GOD**   
**BOW BEFORE THE WONDER OF**   
**MY DIVINE POETRY.**

**-Tai**

**So was yesterday just a one-time thing or are you planning to make the relationship permanent? Also, that last line had six syllables instead of five. XP**

**-Izzy**

**HAIKU GOD WILL COME**   
**TO YOUR HOME TOMORROW AND**   
**DESTROY GEEK'S LAPTOP.**

**-Tai**

**XD Alright, inferior mortal is sorry he offended the Great Haiku God. I just got an update from Yolei. The younger kids ran into a familiar face today in the Digital World while rebuilding Digimon villages.**

**-Izzy**

**:o ?**

**-Tai**

**Ken's back.**

**-Izzy**

_To Be Continued…_


	7. All The World's A Stage

Jun didn't arrive for school the next day either but being a Saturday and a half-day her absence was hardly noticeable.

Really.

"Try these manju dumplings," urged a fellow third-year classmate of Jun's. "They'll make you feel better."

"I know it's not onigara-yaki, but we can't all cook with such passionate love as Motomiya-san!" declared another female seated on Tai's right holding her chopsticks with an octopus-shaped sausage wedged between them out to him.

"Er…" Tai said fidgeting nervously where he sat at his desk, uncomfortable at being surrounded by a large circle of senior high school girls who had taken it upon themselves to traverse the lower grades during their ten-minute break to inform him of his girlfriend's absence and also feed him condolence _bentos_ for some reason _._ Getting cornered by members of the opposite gender was Matt's foray not his.

"I don't think he feels right eating another girl's bento while Motomiya-san is away," whispered a girl into the ear of the girl trying to shove the octopus-sausage down his throat.

"Such unwavering devotion! That is a beautiful thing! I admire that in man!" sniffled a curly-haired girl wiping away a tear.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" exclaimed the girl embarrassed, putting her chopsticks with the octopus-sausage down. "I understand. My cooking probably isn't as good as what you're used to. I mean it can't compare to your Jun-san's or your mother's certainly—"

"Oh, I'm sure anything you guys have cooked is _definitely_ better than my mom's," Tai was quick to interject without thinking.

He was immediately swamped by squealing third-year girls and practically buried underneath the avalanche of arms they flung about him.

"This little kouhai is precious!"

"He's so innocently honest!"

"I love his fluffy hair!"

As Tai struggled to surface from beneath the mass of bodies for air, he managed to catch the on-looking eyes of several of his male classmates.

"Dude, teach us your power, Taichi-sensei!" one breathed in a slightly-envious tone, wide-eyed in awe.

Standing at the back of the classroom, forgotten for once, Matt shook his head at the scene. "Un-be-liev-able."

oOo

Being a half-day meant that there wasn't much trash to clean up in the second-floor classrooms, however it did put him behind an hour meaning he was late for soccer practice that was usually scheduled right after school let out and got pounced on by an angry coach the minute he stepped foot on the field. He received a sound chewing out and then had to explain the reason for his tardiness, which consequently resulted in another lecture after the coach learned there would be more tardiness in the future compliments of his Don't-Disrespect-Idiot-Teachers-Even-If-They-Try-And-Steal-Your-Awesome-Haikus punishment.

If he hadn't been one of the soccer team's key players, Tai supposed he would have gotten benched for the season. As it was, he was the number one striker and the coach was desperate enough to win the fall tournament that year to overlook this small transgression and move the team's practice time down one hour to match his cleaning schedule so he wouldn't miss anything.

Even this generous act bordering on favoritism didn't so much to alleviate the brooding mood he seemed to have fallen into and it showed in his playing. He missed eight out of ten goals, couldn't pass the ball and kept kicking it out into the sidelines and tripped flat on his face two times in a row.

In the end, the coach roared like an enraged boar who had just been skewered, gave him a mighty cuff across the head and warned him to get his act together by the next practice or else and also _"WHAT IN THE SEVEN HELLS IS YOUR PROBLEM?"_

"Girl-troubles," spoke up Asama helpfully, having been a witness to the scene in the classroom earlier that day.

"THAT'S PATHETIC, KAMIYA!" the coach bellowed his face flushing an angry red. "ON THIS FIELD NOTHING EXISTS BUT THE BALL! _SHE_ IS YOUR LADY FROM NOW ON AND YOU WILL TREAT HER ACCORDINGLY LIKE ANY OTHER WOMAN! WITH A SWIFT KICK IN THE BUSTLE TO GET HER MOVING IN THE DIRECTION WHERE YOU WANT HER TO GO, UNDERSTAND?"

"Wait, if we're supposed to treat the ball like a woman, I don't feel right passing her around to other guys then," joked Sano, the team comedian, inciting a wave of guffaws and snorts from his teammates.

"THIS IS NO JOKING MATTER, YOU BUMBLING IDIOTS!" the coach exploded. "IT'S THIS KIND OF LACKLUSTER ATTITUDE WHICH WILL LOSE US FIRST PLACE AS ALWAYS! I WANT NO MORE DISTRACTIONS FOR THIS TEAM! I WANT YOU FOCUSED ON SOCCER SO HARD YOU START SEEING IN BLACK AND WHITE!"

So yeah, this day: not one of Tai's best. He was worried, stressed out, tired and was headed home still wearing his soccer uniform, not bothering to change not wanting to spend another minute than necessary near the coach in case the guy burst an artery or something.

That's when he ran into Sora headed the same way, tennis racket in one hand, duffel bag slung over one shoulder and her tennis uniform clinging to her skin due to a fresh sheen of sweat from playing hours under the sun.

The two stared at each other in surprise for a few seconds before smiles slowly crept across their faces.

"Good practice?" Tai asked falling into step beside her.

"Not my best but it was fun workout," Sora said twirling her tennis racket absent-minded in one hand. "You?"

"I'm thinking of taking up skydiving instead. It might be safer," Tai stated.

Sora laughed. "You've just been under a lot of strain, that's all. What with Jun and—"

"Can we not talk about Jun for once?" Tai said wincing slightly.

"Sorry," Sora said pausing for a long interval before speaking. "It's just that Matt said she knows about Digimon now."

"Boy, news sure travels fast around here," Tai muttered.

"I'm a little worried about what she will do," Sora admitted.

"What _can_ she do?" Tai shrugged looking up at the blue, cloudless sky. "No one would believe her anyway."

"But she lives under the same roof as Davis," Sora pointed out. "She might get footage of DemiVeemon and sell it to the media or use it to blackmail Matt into obeying her every whim…"

"She wouldn't do that," Tai protested feeling unnaturally angry.

"How can you be sure?" Sora said.

"She just wouldn't, okay?" Tai said recalling Jun's glazed, numb expression imprinted across her face like she was in shock… or betrayed.

He saw Sora shooting sideway glances at him from the corner of her eye as they walked along. "I suppose you would deny it if I asked if you like her," the girl stated.

"If you mean 'like' in the platonic sense then I will say that once you get used to her overwhelming enthusiasm and firm resolution on things that she is not all that bad," Tai admitted. "A little crazy but who isn't? But if you're asking me if I like her-like her…"

"Alright," Sora sighed seeing that he wasn't going to finish his sentence and be any clearer on the subject. "But for a person who doesn't feel that way you sure do spend a lot of time around her. Lunches, moped rides, shopping at the arcade, house calls—"

"Do you _really_ want to continue this conversation?" Tai asked stopping in place on the sidewalk.

"No."

"Good, 'cause I like to eat my meals without indigestion," Tai said going into the front entrance of a McDonald's.

Sora followed him inside and he ignored her presence behind him in line, but when his turn came he ordered two servings of burgers and fries.

"Thanks," Sora said as they took their trays to a table and sat down. "You didn't have though."

"Che, what do you mean? I'm eating _both_ ," Tai scoffed, making a pretend swipe at her burger.

Sora shrieked and swatted his hand away. "Greedy!" she chided. "You'll make yourself fat!"

"Shouldn't you be the one who's worried about that?" Tai asked sipping his soda.

"Not that way the coach runs us ragged. I've burned more calories than I've ingested," Sora said.

"I know exactly how you feel," Tai said joining her in a perfectly synchronized hearty bite into their burgers.

"So what do you think about Ken showing up again?" Sora questioned. "Do you think he's really changed?"

"Kari asked me the same thing last night," Tai said remembering.

oOo

" _I don't know what to think," Kari said sitting morosely on her bed hugging a pillow to her chest. "He saved Cody, but he destroyed that Digimon."_

" _We've destroyed Digimon before, don't forget," Tai reminded her gently. "_ All _of us. Sometimes… it's necessary."_

" _But they were evil!" Kari exclaimed pain flashing in her brown eyes as she looked at him for answers. "They were hurting innocent Digimon! They had to be destroyed!"_

" _Was the Digimon Ken destroyed causing harm then?"_

" _I… don't know," Kari admitted reluctantly. "I think Cody and Digmon just surprised Thundermon and he attacked out of reflex. I don't think he was bad—but Ken destroyed him before we could do anything!"_

oOo _  
_

"She seemed really tore up about it," Tai said, a small frown-line appearing on his forehead. "They went back to the Digital World today. Maybe they'll run across Ken again and then we'll find out."

"Oh, Mimi's there too right now!" Sora said. "She wanted to catch up with Palmon and help with the rebuilding YukimiBotamon's village. I'll call her when I get home and see how things went."

"You seem really happy that she came back to Japan this year," Tai stated.

"Well, she was one of my first friends that was a girl I ever made," Sora laughed. "And one that wasn't a part of the soccer team. Mom was thrilled! She says she's been a good influence on me."

"Maybe _too_ good of an influence," Tai muttered, biting down on the end of his straw irritably. Over the years Sora's wardrobe had slowly evolved from t-shirts and jeans to short shorts and skirts and she even had begun wearing make-up and jewelry that she had claimed she so despised. He wasn't sure he liked the change.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sora asked with narrowed eyes.

"Nothing," Tai said quickly, backing off under her glare. Then he did a double take when he noticed the tiny, white heart-shaped barrettes on either side of her head holding her hair in place. _"What_ are those?" he pointed, a long-time faded anger rising within.

"They're called barrettes, you ignoramus of a boy," Sora replied testily. "They help keep my hair from falling into my face when I play tennis."

"Where'd you get them?" Tai pressed inquisitively.

"From Mimi, why do you want to know?"

"No reason… I just sort of got the impression you thought hair clips more evil than Myotismon and the Dark Masters put together."

"Do you _really_ want to continue this line of conversation?"

"No."

The afternoon meal had suddenly turned sour. They sat in silence at their table not meeting each others eyes, chewing food like robotic cows, and the tension in the air was so thick you could have cut it with a knife.

Then it dispersed like grains of sand upon the wind as a head of familiar spiked hair strolled past the glass window behind Sora and Tai choked on his soda causing the fizzy bubbles to shoot up his nostrils and burn the insides.

He was dimly aware of Sora having risen out of her seat and pounding his back perhaps a bit _too_ hard as he hacked his lungs painfully for air. "Are you alright? What happened?" she asked.

Tai all but leaped up and pushed her aside. "I gotta go!" he gasped hoarsely, grabbing his duffel from the floor and making a mad dash for the door.

He burst into the bright sunlight of the outside and frantically scoured the sidewalks for any sign of Jun. A flash of chestnut-colored hair caught his eye to his left and he struck off into the crowd, jostling and fighting his way through until he reached the back of the person he was searching for and clamped a firm hand down on her shoulder.

It had occurred to him in that instant that he might not have seen Jun after all, merely someone else with a similar hair-cut, however the next split second in which the girl spun around and punched him squarely in the stomach with a rock-hard fist sending him down on the gravel to his knees wheezing proved her identity. Yep, he definitely had the right person.

"You!" Jun's voice shouted in surprise from above his head. "What were you thinking? You don't go around grabbing girls in public like that! Some are likely to know self-defense!"

Tai staggered to his feet, rubbing his sore stomach. "Where have you been these past two days?" he asked.

"Oh, did Matt notice my absence?" Jun asked looking pleased. "Good. It's about time he stopped taking me for granted. Well, don't tell him, but I've been trying to research as much information as possible about that incident five years ago. You know, there's a suspicious lack of evidence available and people seem to think the convention center was bombed by terrorists who held everyone captive there. I'm guessing some of your little monster friends have the ability to tamper with memories?"

Tai did recall Gennai saying something like that but the recollection was rather vague. Maybe his own mind had been affected. In any case, he was startled by the cool wave of relief he felt sweep over him when he saw the girl no longer was wearing that horrible glazed expression the last time he had saw her. Her brown eyes were clear and brimming with a fierce determination signifying she was scheming something yet again.

"Tell me how to get one," Jun said abruptly.

"What?"

"One of your monsters, _Digimon_ , whatever. Tell me how I get one," Jun demanded impatiently.

Tai felt a chill travel down his back upon discovering Jun's newest goal. "You can't," he stated directly, hoping she would give up this futile quest. "You have to be chosen."

"Fine, fine. I choose them, they choose me—I'm flexible. Tell me how I can get to this Digital World then so they can find me," Jun insisted.

"You don't understand!" Tai exclaimed frustrated. "Not just anyone can go to the Digital World! You have to be a Digidestined! You need to have one of these!" he said showing her his digivice.

"Okay, let me borrow yours then."

"These give a ride there one passenger per ticket! It's not a two-for-one deal!" Tai snapped stuffing his digivice back in his pocket. "Why do you want a Digimon anyway?"

"I want to become one of you guys!" Jun burst out. "I want to travel by Matt's side fighting evil and curing the world of injustice! This will strengthen our love and seal our bond!"

"This isn't some kind of wild hobby we do on a whim!" Tai shouted disgusted at the logic behind Jun's reason. "We're not adventure-seekers and we don't do this for fun! Digimon are not pets you can buy one day and then abandon later! They're sentient beings with real feelings and to use them for your own purposes is wrong and makes you no better than the dark forces we have fought against!"

"Oh, so what are you saying? That I'm some sort of villain now?" Jun cried offended. "Fine! Keep your precious monsters all to yourself! You think you're someone special because you have one? You think it makes you a better person? Well, you're not! _You're no different than the rest of us! None of you!"_

With a scream of rage, the girl shoved him hard in the chest, slamming him into the back of a telephone booth before she took off running.

Tai leaned against the booth, his chest tight and his spine throbbing and tried to convince himself he hadn't seen the water that had been welling up in Jun's eyes as she had sped past him.

oOo

Saturday had been quite the lousy day and Sunday fared no better. He had been so utterly bored, he had actually finished all the homework assigned and then proceeded to lounge on the couch staring at the tv like a zombie as he flipped through channels without pausing long enough to see what was on them until his mother flung a dish towel at his head and shrieked that the tv was rotting his brain and to get some fresh air before she had him give the bathroom a vigorous scrubbing.

The threat got Tai's feet moving and he wandered aimlessly about for a couple of hours before finally crashing at Izzy's who was surprise, surprise currently engaged in yet another task on his computer.

"Are you having an affair with your laptop, Izzy?" Tai asked resting his hands behind his head as he lay sprawled out on the floor of his friend's bedroom.

"Haha, very funny," Izzy retorted. "I'll have you know I'm writing a program for web scripting and at least I'm doing something constructive with my time unlike _some_ people."

"I can't concentrate," Tai admitted turning on his side. "Kari told me last night that it turned out the Digimon Ken had destroyed the other day was really a control spire in disguise. She said Davis wanted Ken to join their group but she wasn't sure at first. Now I think she's more favorable to the idea."

"And that's a bad thing?" Izzy asked.

"No, everyone deserves a second chance," Tai said remembering how Gatomon had once been on Myotismon's side and how Matt had caused a divide between the Digidestined when he had questioned their purpose in the Digital World instigated a fight with him. "I'm worried because Kari seems to have forgotten that as Digidestined we can't afford to hold back because we might hurt other Digimon. Some… are too evil to exist," he whispered, an image of Diaboromon flashing through his mind.

"Maybe having Ken on their team will broaden their outlook then," Izzy said. "Anyway, that was a disturbingly, deep psychological insight for you, Tai. Do you have a fever or something?"

"See what happens when I'm bored?" Tai moaned. "My mind uses up spare brain cells for useless psychoanalysis! That means my video game high score will take a dip next time I play! Agh, come on, let's do something fun! Show me how you hack into a government or military website."

"You know I'm allowed to do that anymore, Tai," Izzy protested. "Mom says it corrupts good morals and that the only exception is when a crisis needed to be adverted."

"This is a crisis! _I'm boooored!"_ Tai drawled out pouting.

"A national or global crisis, Tai," Izzy corrected rolling his eyes.

"Izzy!" Mrs. Izumi's voice floated shrilly through her son's closed door as she knocked on it. "Are you hacking into top secret websites again?"

"No, Mom!" Izzy called clicking the 'x' button on several pages on the screen in a frenzied fashion.

"You bold-faced liar," Tai jeered.

"Oh, go and hang out with your girlfriend!" Izzy snapped.

oOo

So Sunday morning: not so good. Sunday evening: not so well either. It might have been due to the fact when Kari broke the news that Davis and Ken's Digimon had DNA-Digivolved, something that Tai thought was only unique to WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon. He was fine with that though. Two champions merging into one apparently made them a higher-level and it would be safer for the younger kids to have some Ultimate power on their team. He totally wasn't envious in the least, nope.

And he totally didn't call the Motomiya residence in hopes that Jun would pick up the phone and was disappointed when Davis answered instead, yep.

"Taichi-sempai, it was awesome! You should have seen it! Paildramon is-is-is… THE MON!" Davis gushed excitedly. "He was like ' _Desperado Blaster'!_ KA-POW-POW-POW! And Okuwamon was like 'no wai!' KAPUTEY! Heeheehee! This is great! Now that Ken is on our team we'll be unbeatable! Of course, he's being stubborn and emo about joining, but he'll come around! This was meant to be! This is our _destiny!"_

It occurred to Tai when he hung up that Davis hadn't once whined or wheedled him about talking to Kari or pressed him for information on how she felt for him, and every other word out of the boy's mouth had been 'Ken' this or 'Ken' that.

Tai wondered if he should be concerned. Then he shrugged and turned himself in for the night early certain that Monday would bring the start of a fresh new week.

He shouldn't have gotten his hopes up.

His mother knocked on his door scant seconds after he had burrowed himself a nice little nest in his covers and was starting to doze off.

"Mmurfflgh," he mumbled as the lights flicked on overhead. "Wassit?" he rasped as he sat up groggily.

"You have a _phone call!_ " his mother squealed handing him the cordless before leaving in a batch of suppressed giggles mumbling something like "My son is so popular with the ladies, teehee!"

Tai blamed it on the fogginess one experiences upon first waking up for what he did next. "Jun?" he said into the receiver before the other had a chance to speak.

"Are you seriously not dating her?" Sora's voice crackled dryly over the line.

Tai was too mortified to even think up a clever explanation.

"Never mind. What you do in your free time is none of my business," Sora said brushing the incident aside. "I just want to know: is Matt's favorite color green or blue?"

"… what?" Tai asked not sure he had heard right.

"I mean I've seen him wear green a lot, but then his Crest color was blue plus it will match his eyes, so I was wondering if you knew which color he would like better," Sora said rushing through the sentence as if embarrassed.

"Umm… he seems to wear black a lot now," Tai finally regained control of his vocal cords to talk.

"Don't act stupid, Tai!" Sora said warningly. "I really need another guy's advice. I bought him a watch after you ran off who knows where today and—"

"What? You did _what?"_ Tai exclaimed. "Why would you _do_ that?"

"I noticed he lost his watch. I thought he could use another one," Sora explained. "So he won't be late to his band rehearsals and appointments."

"He has a cell phone! It tells time!" Tai exploded. "And what about the digivices? They have inbuilt clocks too! He can use the freaking digivice!"

"What is your problem?" Sora questioned annoyance laced thickly throughout her tone. "The wristband is detachable and it can become a pocket-watch. I just wanted to know if I should keep the green wristband or return it to the store and replace it with the blue one, but now I think I'll buy both colors because it seems to me that men are completely incapable of making any coherent decisions on their own!"

The sound of the phone being slammed down on its receiver vibrated harshly off the inside of his ear.

So now both Jun _and_ Sora were presenting Matt with a watch and were liable to run across each other's paths the next day. Jun would get the wrong impression and a blood bath would ensue.

Wonderful.

Tai spent a good several minutes banging his head against his bedpost. As it had often had come to him before this way, a brilliant idea jumped into his bruised brain.

"KARI!" he screamed springing out of bed and running out of his room to his sister's. "I NEED TO BORROW A WATCH!"

oOo

Tai's attempt to fix an already fragile situation went something like this:

**I Hope Sanrio Co. Goes Up In A Fire So Intense It Puts the Flames Of Hell To Shame**

By: Taichi Kamiya

CAST

Taichi Kamiya, Odaiba High School junior.  
Matt Ishida, Odaiba High School junior.  
Sora Takenouchi, Odaiba High School junior.  
Jun Motomiya, Odaiba High School senior.  
Random Students, Odaiba High School juniors.  
WarGreymon, Mega Digimon.

SCENE—At Odaiba High School in the shoe locker room, first floor.

Act I, Scene I

[At lockers. MATT is putting on school slippers. Enter TAI.]

TAI: Hey, my best bud, Matt! I thought I'd get you a present to show how much I value our friendship together!

[Holds out newspaper-wrapped, lumpy package taped badly.]

MATT: [Eyes package with two finely-plucked raised eyebrows.] I'm loathe to give anything in return for accepting a bribe like that.

TAT: [Spots JUN coming down the hallway behind MATT towards them a gift bag clutched in both hands. Starts to hyperventilate and sweat. Offers package again.] Why don't you open it now?

MATT: [Looking over TAI's shoulder.] Is that Sora? [Waves.]

TAI: [Glances behind him. Sees SORA advancing with a box encased in wrapping paper in her hands. In nervous voice.] You know why don't I just open it for you? [Rips newspaper-wrapped package.]

MATT: [Gaping openly.] It's a watch.

TAI: [Fake cheery grin.] Yeah, I noticed you lost yours so I got you a replacement! Aren't I such a good friend? Now put it on!

MATT: [Still gaping.] It's a Hello Kitty watch…

TAI: [Inwardly cursing his sister for not having better manly watch options.] It's the thought that counts! Here, give me your hand. [Grabs MATT by wrist.]

MATT: [Shrieks high-pitched.] I AM NOT WEARING A GIRL'S WATCH!

[Wrestles with TAI trying to free himself from TAI's Super Awesome Strong Death Grip.]

TAI: [In hysterical, desperate voice.] IT'S FOR MY OWN GOOD! I MEAN _YOUR_ OWN GOOD! PUT ON THE DAMN WATCH!

[TAI yanks MATT's sleeve back to expose shiny, new crystal-face, blue dial titanium silver watch fitted snugly to his wrist.]

TAI and MATT: [Shares long awkward moment staring at it.]

MATT: [In eerily, calm voice.] Dad bought me a watch over the weekend. He noticed I lost mine too.

SORA and JUN: [Arrive in front of the two boys at precisely the same time and eye each other's packages with suspicious eyes.]

JUN: What's in the box, Takenouchi?

SORA: What's in the bag, Motomiya?

[Proceeds to share intense dagger-like glares at each other before turning and seeing TAI still holding MATT's wrist captive with his Super Awesome Strong Death Grip in one hand and the Hello Kitty watch dangling from the other. MATT's new titanium watch glints most conspicuously under the lights.]

MATT: [Slowly comprehends the hazardous situation he is in. Begins to fear for his life.] I think I have enough watches, guys, thanks though.

TAI: Right, cool, that's great, really. [Releases MATT's wrist from Super Awesome Strong Death Grip and flings open his locker door to throw the unneeded Hello Kitty watch inside.]

MATT: [Emits blood-curdling scream of pain as his fingers are trapped behind TAI's locker door. Resembles something like:] AAAAUUUUGHSUNUVABISHRAAAWWRR !

SORA and JUN: [In concerned unison.] MATT!

[Starts to rush forward before turning attention to potential rival and begin circling each other like wild mountain lions growling low in their throats, painted sharp fingernails at the ready.]

TAI: [Apologetically.] Dude, I am so sorry, Matt! [Extends helping hand.]

MATT: [Irrationally loses it.] GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME! [Slaps TAI's hand away and staggers off down the hallway holding injured fingers to his chest protectively.]

SORA and JUN: [Drops their packages and leap at the other. Engages in vicious cat-fight complete with hair-pulling and eye-scratching.]

Scene II

[The next day. Odaiba High School. Second floor, Classroom 2-B. Students gathered in cluster reading newspaper.]

RANDOM STUDENT #1: [Reading Entertainment section out loud.] _The Teenage Wolves_ regret to inform public that they will not be performing their scheduled concert this week due to injuries sustained to lead vocalist and guitarist, Matt Ishida. An extended leave of absence from their media spotlight has been planned while Ishida recuperates from a violently sprained hand received during a school scuffle.

RANDOM STUDENT #2: I never would have taken Ishida-san for the rough type.

RANDOM STUDENT #3: I saw the whole thing! Ishida had Motomiya, Takenouchi _and_ Kamiya all fighting over him!

[Excited squeals break out amongst female students at the last part.]

RANDOM STUDENT #2: OMIGOSH, REALLY? So it's not a love triangle anymore—now it's like a love…square?

[Everyone turns to look at TAI, MATT, and SORA seated at their respective desks resolutely not meeting each other's eyes.]

RANDOM STUDENT #1: Let's take bets on who'll win Ishida-san's heart in the end!

[Wild cheers break out at this announcement.]

WARGREYMON: [Crashes through window and Terra Forces everyone to black, ashen cinders including MATT and SORA and JUN because MATT is an egotistical blond bigot who refuses to hear TAI's explanations and SORA and JUN for causing the whole mess in the first place buying the stupid watches. But TAI survives because TAI is incredible and WARGREYMON's partner and they effing ROCK so there!]

**The End**

oOo

"You're getting an 'A' in Literature!" Yuuko Kamiya exclaimed delightedly at her son's interim report before reading Takashi-sensei's remarks out loud. _"'Taichi has a hidden writer's talent just waiting to blossom full bloom and a vivid imagination. I loved the last piece he turned in to me. Keep up the good work!'"_

oOo

Tai's Haiku Corner

_Tick-tock goes the clock_   
_I understand now why Hook_   
_Hated this foul thing._

_Good deeds are frowned on_   
_Society shoots you down_   
_It isn't my fault!_

_To Be Continued…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's title is a shortened version of a quote from William Shakespeare. "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players". I thought it fitting for Tai's masterpiece at the end, muwahaha!^^ And if you're wondering about Tai's play title, Sanrio is the company that owns Hello Kitty, so no wonder he's mad at them. Actually, he's infuriated at watch-makers in general, but Sanrio is a familiar name so he focuses his anger towards them.
> 
> *waves* Ten year edit again!
> 
> I don't think any persons memory was messed with but Gennai mentioned that he and the others like him were trying to erase government data and such. Apparently there were factions trying to explain what happened and hoping to go to Digi World to research or explore and such. So Gennai and the others would have found the physical evidence (like video and such) and removed it. Think of it like Gennai making a government cover up of sorts.


	8. Elementary, My Dear Jun

Logical question:

All humans make mistakes.

Tai is a human.

Therefore, we can conclude…

{1}-Tai's friends should forgive him for any grievance, injury, or embarrassment he may have caused them even though he was only trying to help.

{2}-Matt should stop being a giant douche in giving him the silent treatment because he is not a hormonal, pregnant woman for Gennai's sake!

{3}-Sora and Jun should just get all that hateful tension they have towards each other out by mud-wrestling. In bikinis. And since they're holding Tai responsible for not being able to give Matt their gifts, they should drag him into the mud-fight with them.

"When I said make up your own logical premise for extra credit, I didn't mean that I wanted to read an episode of your soap opera-ish life or pubescent fantasy, Mr. Kamiya," the Logic teacher drawled waving his graded test in front of him. "Save your creative writing for Literature class next time."

oOo

Tai soon found out that having the majority of the entire Odaiba High School female student body set against him was a truly harrowing ordeal. Apparently, they didn't much like the fact that he had essentially "maimed" (according to their accusations) their favorite rock star idol and put him out of commission from his concerts for a couple of weeks. If you asked Tai though, he was of the idea that Matt was milking the sympathy and his injury for all it was worth. His hand couldn't possibly have been sprained badly enough to not be able to use it for longer than two days at least. Matt had girls dutifully taking notes and writing in-class essays as he dictated for them. He claimed he was unable to engage in volleyball during P.E. because his "motor skills had been temporarily damaged". Personally, Tai thought he had just chickened out because he was afraid of getting whacked in the face due to his poor physique and lack of athletic talent, breaking his nose and marring his complexion. (Matt took way too much pride in his appearance).

The only girls that _didn't_ want to string him up by his tie were Jun's fellow classmates who, after the Infamous Watch Incident, took his side and claimed that they too, "would maim the person who was trying to steal their love away from them" and how "Motomiya-san doesn't know a good thing when she has it!" and "Ishida-san has good looks but Taichi-kun has heart!".

As for Sora and Jun, neither of them was speaking to him. This was hardly surprising for Sora—he had often been victim to this sort of behavior on her end before over some trivial thing. Half the time, he hadn't even been sure what he had done wrong to rattle her. Hey, it wasn't like he had _asked_ her to jump Jun and make a complete fool of herself! She would come around and forgive him on her own terms in her own time. Jun, on the other hand, didn't seem like the type of girl to ignore someone no matter how mad she was at them. He was sure she was going to call him the day after the fiasco to formulate another plan of attack on snagging the objection of her affection, but he had hardly seen or heard hide or hair of her since that day.

Not that he cared or anything.

It was a relief to have some peace from her nagging presence for once.

He totally was _not_ missing her.

And if it appeared like he was, it was only because his friend list had been cut down to half its size and he was just desperate for someone to talk to.

What he needed was to share his troubles with someone who didn't go to his chaotic school and therefore would be an uninterested, neutral party he could just chill out and relax with.

So Izzy and Mimi were out because they also attended Odaiba Insane Asylum. Izzy never discarded the chance to make quips about his "girlfriend" and Mimi was Sora's best friend so he could already pretty much guess whose side she would be on.

The younger Digidestined were out of the question also because if they weren't at school, they were always in the Digital World and didn't come back until dark where they finished up their homework before finally sleeping at the end of a long, long day. They were too busy and too young to fully understand the finer and more complicated dynamics of teenage relationships.

Someone closer to his age so they could relate more with him would be ideal.

oOo

"So anyway, Matt is a giant overly-sensitive, grudge-holding prick and Sora has turned into one of those stuck-up, holier-than-thou, preppy girls ever since she switched to tennis and Jun needs to wake up and smell the roses because she wouldn't have a chance with Matt in a trillion years and there is no excuse for her leaving me hanging this long. I'm her pretend boyfriend for crying out loud! I deserve some closure if we've broken up, dangit!" Tai ranted not caring for once how crazy it all sounded.

Joe seemed to be more antsy than usual today. He sat stiff-back and rigid in his chair with his hands resting on his knees, tapping his fingers in a nervous manner and every so often he would glance at his watch to check the time. (Tai had to resist the urge to stab a fork through the glass face each time he saw this).

"Got someplace to go?" Tai asked, taking a swig from the can of soda Joe had offered earlier when he first had showed up unexpected at his apartment.

"Actually, yes, I do," Joe stuttered, his cheeks turning red for some reason. "It's not that I didn't enjoy your visit, Tai. It was… educational. It's just that I already made plans and I need to be at a certain place at a certain time and I need to get going. Maybe I could call you tonight and we could talk some more."

"What, got a date or something?" Tai joked, snickering.

Joe's face flushed red so bright it looked like he had a bad case of sunburn or had toasted himself too long in the tanning booth.

Tai choked into his soda for the second time that month.

"WHAT?" he exclaimed, spewing fizzy liquid all over the table. "What, are you serious? Who—what—where— _how?"_ he demanded wide-eyed.

"I-It's not a date," Joe disputed tugging at the collar of his shirt. His white-collar button-up shirt with a striped vest and tie and blue fleece, polyester jacket. "It's just where two people who possess a mutual understanding and familiarity agree to hang out with each other and do recreational activities."

"That is the very definition of a date in geek speech!" Tai shouted his curiosity piqued. "Well, who is she? Come on, tell me! Do I know her? Does she go to your school? Does she wear glasses too? How did you two meet? Details, details, man!"

"I'm sorry, but I have to go now or I'll be late," Joe apologized not sounding sorry in the slightest, walking them to the door and pulling it shut behind him when they had stepped outside.

"I'll call you later, Tai," Joe waved once they had reached the ground level of the apartment complex before taking off.

Tai was left standing on the sidewalk doing quite the good impression of a mime that had just had a piano dropped on him.

Omigosh, Joe, geeky-glasses, jittery, book-worm Joe was going a _date._ This was astronomical news! It should be in the Guinness Book of World Records! This piece of information was far too juicy to keep all to himself. He had to tell someone!

Tai drew out his cell phone while hurrying after Joe. It's not like he had a better things to do to past the time that day. The soccer team didn't meet for practice and he was being shunned by everyone else. Give up the opportunity to discover the identity of Joe's new love interest? No way!

Wait until Matt heard about this!—oh. His thumb hovered inches from pressing the blonds' number on speed dial before he remembered that they were fighting. Again. And Matt wasn't likely to answer his call.

Fine! He would call Sora then— _dammit!_

Okay, to heck with them. Izzy always liked to be on the uptake of things. Tai dialed his number but all he managed to get a hold of was his voice mail.

"Izzy, it's me!" Tai hissed into the phone as he crouched behind a mail box watching Joe pace back and forth on the corner by the crosswalk sign. "You'll never believe what's happened! Call me back as soon as possible—you're missing out on all the action!"

A crowd of people crossed the street and from his eye-level, Tai caught a glimpse of dainty sandal-strapped feet walk up to where Joe was waiting.

Any doubts that had gathered in his mind vanished at the sight of those perfectly polished toenails. This was the most exciting thing that had occurred since the Digital World had re-opened and no one was here to witness it except him!

He dialed Mimi's number knowing she adored gossip like this. Her annoying Ai Otsuka ringtone would be difficult for anyone to ignore. He could almost hear the hip-hop beat and lyrics to "Pretty Voice" from where he squatted.

Wait a minute… he _was_ hearing that song. What the—?

"Oh, hold on, I'm getting a call," a familiar voice said and Tai ogled bug-eyed as the crowd parted to reveal the back of a girl in a pink dress and white wool sweater pull out her matching pink cell phone over-decorated with multiple keychain accessories and hold it to her ear.

The girl's hair was honey-brown in color not pink, but there was no mistaking the soft voice that drifted out from his own phone.

"Moshi, moshi," Mimi greeted.

"Ah, ah," was all Tai managed to produce. He supposed this must be how Alice felt when she fell down the rabbit hole. He must have gotten caught in rift between worlds—some weird parallel dimension. There was no way he was seeing what he was seeing.

"I know it's you, Tai. I recognized your number," Mimi said. "Did you want to tell me something? If it's not important, it will have to wait. I'm busy at the moment."

"Y-Y-You… changed your hair back," Tai stated numbly. Well, at least it was better than screeching, _"You're on a date with Joe—MINDCRUSHEDDEAD!"_

"I washed the pink out two weeks ago, Tai," Mimi said somewhat impatiently. "Dyed hair isn't allowed at school, you know that. I only kept it as long as I did because the inspection guard has a soft spot for me, but the teaching staff finally had enough of me rebelling against the rules. Anyway, is that all you wanted to say?"

"Um, it looks… good?" Tai complimented weakly.

"Thank you, Tai. See you at school," Mimi said politely but curtly as she hung up.

"What was that about?" Joe asked anxiously.

"Oh, just Tai being Tai," Mimi sighed. "I guess he snapped out of his comatose state and reclusiveness long enough today to finally notice my hair is brown again. He's been acting strange ever since the day he, Sora, and Jun all tried to give Matt a new watch. Now none of them are talking to each other and it's driving me crazy."

"Oh, he was telling me about that," Joe said. "Is it true he's really dating Jun?"

"He's adamantly denying it, but every time you turn around you see them together, or at least you used to. Jun hasn't approached him for awhile now. Maybe they broke up?" Mimi wondered out loud. "It sounds like he's lonely. He called to say my hair looks nice."

"I think so too," Joe agreed quickly looking like he had spoke without thinking for his face turned so red it was almost a purple shade.

"Really?" Mimi said, curling a strand around her finger and frowning at the color. "I always thought brown was so dull and boring."

"I think you look better natural. I mean your hair looks better natural! I mean, it's not like I thought you looked hideous with pink hair or anything! I mean, you always look nice. You just look nicer natural. I mean, don't let other people's opinions sway the way you wear your hair! Ah, don't listen to me! That is—" Joe stumbled over the words at last cutting himself off abruptly and hiding his eyes behind the glint of his glasses.

"Oh, Joe, you still get flustered so easily!" Mimi laughed. "Come on, let's go.

The two set off down street, walking close side by side but neither one touching the other, their voices gradually growing dimmer as they got further away.

Tai remained behind the mailbox his legs collapsing underneath him in a cross-legged position. For one moment, his brain was blissfully void of any words, ideas, images and thoughts whatsoever. It was like he had attained a high level of _zazen_ enlightenment.

Then reality crashed down upon and he leaped to his feet clutching his head and screamed, "HOLY SHELLMON!"

Joe and Mimi were dating.

Well, he couldn't be too sure of that. Joe had claimed it wasn't a date he was going on, but he could have been lying in embarrassment and he had seemed rather nervous around Mimi. But then, he was always nervous so maybe that didn't count. If they weren't on a date though, why were they hanging out so conspicuously _alone_ together? If it was just a friendly outing, why had neither Joe nor Mimi simply told him who they were meeting up with?

He couldn't be satisfied with all these questions and no answers. There was only one solution left now.

Tai whipped out his pair of red-tinted sunglasses he had bought at the arcade and put them on striking off in the same direction Joe and Mimi had taken.

Yus! Super Sleuth Tai was going to solve this puzzling mystery!

oOo

Okay, so fifteen minutes into his steadfast surveillance on the two hadn't yielded any suspicious results whatsoever. They didn't act lovey-dovey and they didn't even hold hands. And if they were on a date, they certainly had picked an odd spot. Of all the places they could have gone, where had Tai followed them into? A _bookstore._ Yeah, not a very romantic setting... unless they were going to look at _The Book of Kama Sutra_ or something—OH, BAD IMAGES, BAD, BAD, BAD!

Tai began clubbing himself in the forehead with a thick, hard-cover Atlas of Japan in a vain effort to banish the pictures his mind had painted vividly inside his head.

"I don't think doing that will help you raise your Geography grade. You might want to try studying through osmosis instead. It's less painful," advised a voice to his right. A voice he knew all too well.

"Jun!" Tai yelped startled dropping the heavy book on his foot and then spent the next minute hopping about madly on one leg.

"Stop that!" Jun frowned. "You look like an injured flamingo!"

"What are you doing here? And… why are you talking to me?" Tai asked wondering why the girl always seemed to pop up in the most unexpected places no matter where he was.

" _I_ came here to pick up a Japanese-English dictionary," Jun declared holding the book up. "And why shouldn't I talk you?"

"Maybe because you haven't for like two weeks—not that anyone is counting," Tai shrugged in what he hoped was an uncaring attitude.

"Anyone would be angry enough at their _boyfriend_ for not giving them the heads up that their rival had bought the same gift as them to give to the person they were about to confess to _not_ to talk to him for that long!" Jun hissed.

"Okay, do you even realize how weird that sounds? And Sora is not your rival. She was just giving Matt a watch as friend. I tried to stop her but she wouldn't listen to me!" Tai tried to defend himself.

"Boy are you blind," Jun scoffed. "Anyone who was only giving a present as a _friend_ would never have gotten involved in fight with the other person. They would have waited and given their gift later. That tennis chick is crazy—look at what at the handiwork she left on my arm." Jun rolled up the sleeve of her sweater to reveal an angry reddish-purpling bruise in the shape of a bite mark on her skin. "No _friend_ would go at to this extreme if they weren't serious."

Time seemed to slow down. Jun was still talking but Tai couldn't make out her words. A strange, unrecognizable, and unexplainable emotion seared in his chest. It was almost… painful.

"Well, I left a few battle scars of my own for her to think about. She has no idea who she is dealing with!" Jun fumed. "No racket-swinging, chicken-legged, flat-chested female is going to steal my Mattie away from me just because they've known him longer! She better be prepared for war!" The girl looked up to see his despondent expression. "Oi, you look depressed. Something wrong?"

"It's… it's nothing," Tai said avoiding her gaze and scanning the bookstore for Mimi and Joe. He spotted them over by the magazine section.

"Hey, isn't that the exchange student?" Jun asked following his line of sight and leaning over his shoulder for a better view. "The one who used to have pink hair? I wouldn't have expected her to be the bookish type. What's she doing here?"

"She's on a date," Tai said not bothering to go into details.

"Hmmm?" Jun hummed glancing back and forth between Tai and Mimi before the right-hand corner of her mouth turned upwards in a sly grin. "Oooh, I get it now! You're upset because the girl you like is with another guy!"

" _What?"_

"I knew it had to be one of those two girls you went to summer camp with! Good choice with Strawberry Shortcake!" Jun proclaimed gleefully giving him a thumbs up and winking. "She seems a lot nicer than Psycho Sora!"

"You're getting it all wrong!" Tai objected. "I'm not jealous of Joe and I don't like Mimi! I was just following them to see what they were up to!"

"So you were stalking them."

"Yes. What—no! I mean yes, but it was only a bit of spying that's all! I wasn't sure if they were dating!" Tai struggled to explain.

Jun stared at him incredulously and cocked an eyebrow. "Well, have you found out playing your little espionage game then?"

"No," Tai admitted feeling incredibly stupid.

"Tch, men!" Jun scoffed throwing up her arms in disgust. "You wait here. I'll go ask Strawberry Shortcake straight out if she and Glasses-san are an item for you."

"Wait!" Tai cried gripping the girl's arm frantically and yanking her back as she started forward. "Don't do that!"

Perhaps he didn't know his own strength or Jun was caught off guard. Either way, their equilibrium was thrown off balance and they found themselves toppling over backwards. Jun made a wild grab at the book shelf but only succeeding in bringing a shower of books down around them.

The end result of Tai's sleuthing act: nothing gained other than a plethora of paper cuts. Who was it that said "no harm ever came from reading a book" again?

oOo

"I have _never_ met another guy so faint-hearted when it comes to talking with girls!" Jun swore as she stomped down the sidewalk to her moped, the two of them having been escorted forcefully out of the shop. "If you don't gather up your courage and tell her your true feelings soon then you're going to lose her! No wonder she's going out with Glasses-san. I hear the studious types are the most bold."

Tai trailed after her, hands in his pockets, thinking it extremely ironic that the Chosen Child of Courage should be on the receiving end of a lecture on courage. He didn't bother correcting her on the assumption she had that he liked Mimi. If she realized he didn't then she would continue to search for the reason he had been so upset back in the bookstore and he wasn't sure he fully understood himself yet.

"Oi, do you want a ride somewhere or what?" Jun asked and Tai became conscious of the fact that he had been loitering in front of her moped for the last minute or so. He blinked, feeling tongue-tied all of a sudden and Jun took the initiative and tossed him the helmet. "The spare's at home. Wear mine. My head's harder than yours. And I really shouldn't be doing you this favor considering I didn't get to buy the dictionary for my English class."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Tai apologized climbing on behind her and slipping his hands around her waist. The heat pooling in his hands was now so customary it no longer surprised him. The wild flip-flops his stomach made, as if he had swallowed a jar full of butterflies, were a new experience though.

"It just hasn't been my day," Jun stated grimly as she took off. "I haven't just been sulking for two weeks you know. I decided to start pursuing my plans as a paparazzi. I made some inquiries at some local magazine companies to see what the requirements were. They said I needed camera. That's a no-brainer right? But it can't be just any camera. It has to be a telephoto with a zoom lens if I want to get really good, quality shots. Do you have any idea of how much that type of equipment costs?"

"Uh…"

"Thousands of yen!" Jun exploded, swerving around the clogged traffic lanes angrily. "That's only for one camera! They said the best paparazzi have more than one kind! _And_ I need a flash and external battery pack to top it all off! I've done the math: the sum is up in the thousands! And get this: even if you do manage to snap a good picture, you don't get paid until a couple of months later!"

"Jun, why is this so important to you?" Tai asked. "You have five months before you graduate and then start college. That's more than enough time to save up for a camera kit."

"You don't understand," Jun said, her voice quavering slightly. "Matt's going to move on beyond my reach. He's just starting out now so it would be easy for me to get some shots of him but he's too good to stay in Tokyo forever. His fame is going to spread… past Japan and into other countries. If I don't start acting now, he'll be so far ahead I'll never catch up to him."

Jun gripped the handlebars of her moped so tightly that her knuckles turned white. He could see the girl's despondent expression as she bit her lip reflected in the side-view mirror. Pressed against her back, he was aware of the tiny tremors that were racking through her body that she was trying to gain under control. Tai laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I know someone who can help," he said.

oOo

Hiroaki Ishida's normally scheduled routine of a mug of coffee and a cigarette on his break towards the end of the day was broken by a figure with spiky-hair hurling themselves at him and squealing, "PAPA!" in a joyful voice. Judging by the softness of other person pressed against his chest, they were most undoubtedly female. Hiroaki didn't recall having any daughters. The only two children he had were both boys and they certainly didn't address him as "Papa".

"Excuse me, miss," he said attempting to pry her off him by her arms—it was like trying to peel the peanut butter layering off a cracker. "But I'm afraid you have the wrong person."

The girl lifted her face up from within the folds of his shirt and graced him with a radiant smile. "Nope!" she chirped merrily, hugging him tighter. "You're definitely my papa! I'm Jun Motomiya, your son Matt's fiancée and your future daughter-in-law! Pleased to meet you again!"

Recognition shot through him like a bolt from the blue. She was the one Matt had been trying so desperately to avoid when they had gone on that camping trip. The one who had chased him relentlessly across so many kilometers that he thought it was only fair she win her prize in the end and had ordered Matt to take her back home. He had been served burned dinners for a week on purpose after that incident. His eldest son could be as vindictive as his mother when he wanted to. Hiroaki had thought Matt was over-exaggerating when he had labeled the girl as an obsessive stalker, however he was beginning to suspect his son had a firm grasp on things.

And so did the girl. A very firm grasp. He wasn't sure how he was going to extricate himself from her clinging hold. Maybe he should call for security? But they might take the wrong person into custody upon seeing a teenage girl and middle-aged man embracing in a public news studio though…

"Mr. Ishida," greeted a familiar voice. Hirokai glanced up and was very heartened to see his son's friend, Taichi Kamiya walking their direction, a visitor tag swinging from around his neck. Perhaps he could phone for help.

"Jun, get off him, you're scaring the poor guy," Tai said stopping in front of them.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Papa!" the girl cried releasing him and leaping back blushing embarrassed. "I'm usually not this forceful. I promise I will treat your son with all the compassion and respect he deserves! Please accept me into your family!"

 _Did she just ask for my son's hand in marriage?_ Hirokaki thought taking a long, much-needed drag on his cigarette and inhaling the soothing nicotine gratefully. _That's a little redundant. She already claimed she was Matt's fiancée. Maybe she wants my blessing. God, I don't think one pack is going to cut it today._

"We didn't come here so you could plan your wedding," Tai said, a faint trace of annoyance dripping into his tone before turning to his friend's father, "Mr. Ishida, I was wondering if you could give Jun a few pointers on joining the media business…"

oOo

When Jun was happy the emotion spread like a disease that sunk into the very marrow of your bones. Tai felt like he was experiencing flu-like symptoms. The sight of Jun skipping out of the elevator into the lobby of the tv station twirling in a circle as if she had just been chosen as the lead dancer in a ballet caused cool chills to travel down the expanse of his nervous system. And earlier, a sudden rise in body temperature when she had hugged him in thanks for bringing her here had swept over him like a fire leaving him light-headed and dizzy.

"Mr. Ishida is the greatest!" Jun exclaimed clasping her hands together elated. "Alright, I've decided! I'm not going to be a paparazzi! I'm going to be a reporter!"

Apart from the initial meeting, things had gone rather smoother afterward. Mr. Ishida had suggested that Jun join a tv production club if her high school had one. This would help refine her writing and speaking skills as well as getting used to standing in front of a camera. He also told her to make sure she was up to date on the news and every current event no matter how small. Then he had said if she was really sure that this was the career she wanted, she should enroll in a Journalism program at whatever university she decided to attend and he would give her an internship at the Fuji TV Station.

"You just wait, Matt!" Jun shouted her vow to the endless clear, blue sky as she stepped outside. "I'll be a famous reporter and follow you around on your world tours giving you media coverage! I will be a wife that can support her husband's career choice and stay by his side too! Not even distance can keep us from each other now!"

Tai smiled. Matt was going to flip when he learned the latest update on Jun. It was really too bad he wasn't talking to him at the moment so Tai could give him the heads up.

Tai's cell phone went off on vibrate in his pocket. It slipped out of his hands as he was pulling it out and Jun picked it up off the ground ever so helpfully and answered it.

"Moshi, moshi!" she sung out cheerfully still in the throes of happiness over her bright future.

"Give me that!" Tai snapped, snatching from her. "Hello?"

"Tai, if you wanted to tell me how your and Jun's make-up date went, you could have waited until school," Izzy said. "I hardly think I'm 'missing out on all the action' as you put it."

"I AM NOT ON A DATE WITH JUN!" Tai exploded in an furiously loud voice, startling a flock of pigeons into the air and successfully creating a wide perimeter around him and Jun that the crowd maintained.

Behind him, Jun was humming merrily along to a song on the moped's radio as she revved up the engine, quite undisturbed by Tai's vehement denial. Why should she be anyway? She had her heart set on Matt and was only using him as a means to obtain her goal.

"Listen, Tai, you better cut your date short and go home," Izzy said in a concerned tone. "The younger kids ran into trouble in the Digital World today and got beat up quite a bit."

"What?" the worry in Izzy's voice made Tai's blood freeze over. "How badly hurt were they hurt? What happened?"

"Arukeniemon created another Digimon from a hundred Control Spires. His name is BlackWarGreymon."

_To Be Continued…_


	9. The Melancholy Of Taichi Kamiya

Tai took off without explaining the situation to Jun and raced home in a panicked hurry. There was a cold, tight feeling in his chest and a lump wedged in the back of his throat. His mind kept imagining pictures of his sister's body in horribly mangled positions and not knowing how badly she had been hurt only fanned his gnawing, anxious fear even worse.

He burst through the entrance of the apartment complex and didn't bother taking off his shoes, heading straight towards his sister's bedroom and flinging her door wide open. Kari lay in bed under the covers, surrounded by an army of pillows. The pale skin of her arms and face was marred with numerous bruises fading from purple to brown indicating they were old, but other than that she appeared fine.

"Hey, Tai," she said, wincing slightly at the pain as she stretched puffy lips into a smile.

"You okay?" Tai asked tentatively going over to stand by her bedside.

"I guess Izzy told you. We couldn't stop him… he was too strong. S-So powerful...," Kari's voice cracked as tears welled up in her eyes. She was obviously still shaken up from the near-fatal encounter and trying hard not to show it.

A small, white cat with a purple-striped tail emerged from beneath the canopy of pillows and curled up in the girl's arms. "I'm sorry, Kari," Gatomon whispered, her tufted ears drooping in shame. "I promise I'll protect you better next time."

"No, he'll destroy you!" Kari cried, hugging her partner tightly. "You're not strong enough to beat him! None… of us are."

BlackWarGreymon. A Digimon created from one hundred Control Spires. Mega level. It definitely sounded like too much for the younger kids to handle with only one Ultimate on the team. Not for the first time, Tai felt the twinges of regret and resentment at having to give up their Crest powers even though it had been to restore balance to the Digital World. If Agumon had been able to digivolve into WarGreymon, he would be a force to reckon with no doubt. But there was no possibility of that happening now. He couldn't even think of any words of comfort to give to his sister. What could he say? "Good luck, break a leg, guys! Literally." It would be like sending a Botamon to take down Devimon. It was so _frustrating._

His cell phone went off and Tai answered it without bothering to check the number, listlessly wondering if it was Jun calling him about Davis.

" _What the hell_ gives you the right to take Jun to my father and ask him to make my life even more miserable than it already is?" Matt's voice spat furiously.

"What?" The events of earlier today seemed as if from a distant time, Tai had almost forgotten.

"I just got home and Dad tells me you dropped by the news station with Jun in tow. Now I hear she's aiming to be a reporter to follow me around and harass me for the rest of my days and Dad wants to know why I didn't introduce him to my 'charming fiancée' sooner!" Matt seethed.

The memory of Jun laughing and twirling on the steps of the tv station so blissfully happy flashed before Tai's eyes. A dull, burning anger swelled up within him. "She has every right to chase after her dreams and _I_ have every right to help her!" he stated heatedly.

"Oh, so you _did_ do it on purpose!" Matt accused. "I don't know what your problem is these days, Tai, but even I never thought you would sink as low as sabotage!"

"Exactly _what_ am I sabotaging?" Tai demanded, his voice rising along with his ire and Kari and Gatomon were staring wide-eyed at him. "At least Jun and I know where we stand with each other! At least I don't avoid confrontation with her at every opportunity like _you!_ If you don't like her stalking you and putting you on a pedestal then be honest and quit hiding! Pluck up the courage and tell her you can't return her feelings and put an end to this wishy-washy charade you're playing! It's only making you look indecisive and timid in her eyes—something she finds extremely attractive, just why I don't know!"

"W-What—" Matt stuttered at a loss for words. It wasn't often that he got preached at. And by Tai. By Tai whose argument actually sounded sensible for once.

"If you have the time to call me and attempt to shove your self-righteous indignation down my throat, why don't you save your breath and talk to T.K.!" Tai said. "He's probably just as bad off as Kari!"

"T.K.? What do you mean?" Matt asked, surprise and worry seeping into his tone.

"Haven't you seen him yet?"

"He's over at Mom's. He doesn't visit Dad and me until this weekend. Did something happen?"

"Call Izzy first," Tai suggested hanging up abruptly. There was nothing more he wanted to say at that time.

"Did you and Matt have another fight?" Kari asked looking sad.

"Forget about it," Tai said placing a gentle hand on her forehead. It felt a little bit warmer than usual. He hoped it wasn't the start of a fever. He didn't think she could handle the stress of another physical illness right now. "I'll get you something to cold to drink. Meanwhile, you think about what to say to Mom to explain your injuries when she gets back. Where is she anyway?"

He hadn't seen her when he had rushed by the kitchen. It was unusual for her not to be home so late in the afternoon.

"She was here earlier," Kari said. "She went next door to Mrs. Hanazawa's to borrow some daikon. Something about making radish-strawberry jam."

"There goes my appetite," Tai muttered. "What did she say when she saw you?"

"She said I should rethink about staying in the Photography club. It looks 'dangerously rough'," Kari repeated.

Tai let out a much-needed laugh at that, grasping the door handle on his way out. "Don't worry about BlackWarGreymon, Kari," he said. "We'll get through this somehow. You're not alone, never forget that."

oOo

Kari was well enough to get up and go to school the next morning.

"You're not going back to the Digital World today, are you?" Tai asked on their walk to school. "You should take one day off at least and catch up on your rest."

"Every day we aren't there to knock down Control Spires is just giving Arukeniemon a chance to create more evil Digimon," Kari said. "We have to go back."

"We'll be more careful this time!" Gatomon called out as she walked delicately across the telephone wires above them. "If BlackWarGreymon shows his ugly tin mug again, I'll use it as my new scratching post!"

"Just don't do anything reckless," Tai warned as they parted to go on separate routes to their schools.

"That's funny coming from you!" Kari laughed waving goodbye.

Tai wondered what exactly she had meant by that. He didn't have to dwell on it too long though, for he was ambushed the minute he crossed the school ground's threshold by Jun who snagged him firmly by his tie and dragged him behind the school, past the bicycle racks, to the storage shed and shoved him inside, shutting the door behind her.

"Agh, what are you doing?" Tai croaked. It was more difficult than he thought since Jun was still holding onto to his tie in an uncomfortable grip and practically choking him.

"Shut up!" Jun ordered, yanking harshly on his tie and shaking him into silence. "The little twerp was being as bull-headed and tight-lipped as he always annoyingly is yesterday so you're going to explain instead! Tell me what happened in that other world that caused my brother to come back home looking like he'd been run over by an elephant! Was it one of your monster friends you hold in such high regard? Huh?"

Tai was surprised that she seemed concerned about Davis. "The one who attacked your brother and the others was not one of our 'friends'," he explained as calmly as he was able with his trachea being cut off from its air supply. "It was one of our enemies."

"Is that all you're going to tell me?" Jun exclaimed incredulously. "My brother puts himself at risk playing boy-hero in some stupid made-up world and you—"

"I told you before that the Digital World and its inhabitants are as real as you and me," Tai interrupted her coldly, jerking himself free. "Anything abnormal that happens is in jeopardy to leaking over to ours and visa versa. The two worlds are connected and we're not playing some kind of virtual-reality game. Davis is aware of the danger there and his duty to stop it and the sooner you accept this fact the better."

Tai felt around in the darkness trying to find the door. His hand brushed against the Jun's arm and he realized she was standing right in front of it effectively blocking it.

"Move away from the door."

"No, not until you promise me I can have a Digimon too."

"I thought we talked about this already."

"I'm not stupid. The only thing that is hindering me is that I can't go to the Digital World right?" Jun assessed shrewdly. "Davis' little blue dragon came from there and it seems to be doing alright here. Just bring me back a Digimon and I'll prove myself a good partner!"

Tai couldn't believe what he was hearing. "I can't do that!"

"I know why you're hesitating. It's because of that thing, isn't it?" Jun stated, pointing at the digivice clipped to his belt loop. "You don't want to bring me a Digimon because I don't have one of those. Who's to say one won't appear when my partner and I finally meet?"

"It doesn't work that way!" Tai protested remembering that both Kari and Ken's digivices had appeared before their partners had showed up. "Why do you want this so badly?"

"If the twerp can fight then so can I!" Jun insisted. "I can probably do it better than him too!"

Tai was gratified to hear that Matt was no longer a part of the girl's reasoning. "You really do care about Davis, don't you?" he said with a smile. "You just have a funny way of showing it."

"Don't change the subject!" Jun shrilled, what appeared like dark shadows in the dim light blossoming in her cheeks at his statement. "Promise to bring me back a Digimon!"

" _No,"_ Tai said firmly _._ Now move!"

He grappled with Jun over the doorknob, knocking shoulders with her as they played a vicious game of tug-of-war with it until quite unexpectedly, the door swung open and Tai found himself falling with Jun for the yet the fourth time since he had known her. They landed in a jumbled heap on the ground directly in front of the feet of the person who had opened the door and Tai recognized the vice-principal's pointed shoes with a sinking heart.

It didn't help that Jun was pinned underneath him, her legs entangled with his incriminatingly and she was clutching the front of his shirt with both hands, her chest that was pressed against his heaving with tiny, gasping pants as she struggled to regain the wind that had been knocked out of her back in her lungs.

"This… isn't what it looks like," Tai stammered red-faced.

oOo

"Did you hear? Kamiya and Motomiya got caught making out in the school storage shed!"

"I think it's so romantic they forgave each other and made up!"

"Waaah! This will totally mess up the odds in the Love Square pool! I bet two hundred yen that Motomiya and Ishida end up together!"

"Hey, you still have a chance! Remember Kamiya and Motomiya are an off-and-on again couple! They're just on the honeymoon stage in their relationship cycle right now. It can't last forever."

"Quit spinning wild rumors! Don't you have better things to do with your time?" said a voice in an admonishing tone to her gossiping classmates.

Tai turned and saw Sora take a seat next to him. The girl gave a small smile and wave as she met his eyes. Oh, was that a sign that she had forgiven his earlier transgression of the Infamous Watch Incident then? Were they talking again now?

"That's not at all true what everyone is saying anyway right?" she asked sounding oddly curious.

Tai smacked his forehead sharply into his desktop's surface as he let out an exasperated moan.

"S-seriously?" Sora squeaked amazed.

"What class is this?" Tai asked wearily lifting his now-sore and throbbing head up.

The teaching staff was still debating over what his and Jun's punishment should be. Obviously, they couldn't allow students to go around making bad examples of themselves to others and Odaiba High had a reputation to uphold as a wholesome school as well. They were planning to forbid him from playing soccer, but the coach, once he had caught wind of this, had marched into the principal's office and threw an adult temper tantrum (complete with throwing his cap and clipboard on the floor and stomping on them) and accused the school board of being "paid off by the rival team" and how he "would not stand for subterfuge of this level!" No one had been sure what to do about Jun, who so far had not joined any after-school clubs (and was keeping quiet about her desire to join the tv production club just in case) and therefore was proving difficult to penalize.

So in the end, they both had received a two-hour-long lecture from the health teacher on the dangers of STD s and the importance of abstinence. It had been utterly humiliating.

"Literature," Sora told him.

Tai's shoulders began to shake and tears leaked out of the corners of his eyes as a maniacal, cackling laugh erupted from deep within his throat.

Worst. Punishment. Ever.

"Takashi-sensei!" shouted one of his female classmates. "I think Taichi-san is having a nervous breakdown!"

oOo

It was lunch time and Tai had decided to escape the mob of senior girls he knew would descend on him as usual probably to congratulate him on his and Jun's "passionate make-up session" by heading outside the building to sit and eat his bento as peacefully as possible on the benches underneath the shade of the sakura trees.

A little difficult since he had forgotten it was autumn and almost all the leaves had fallen from their branches leaving nothing but the bare skeleton. The day was cloudy, gray, windy and cold, but at least he had half an hour of space away from his nosy classmates.

So he thought.

The crunch of gravel under someone's feet fell upon his ears and Tai looked up to see Matt standing a few feet away, an appropriately chagrined expression plastered on his face.

"Hey," Matt said in a sheepish tone.

"Hey," Tai replied brusquely.

"I saw you from the window," Matt explained, shifting his weight around restlessly, "and I just came out here to say…"

Tai waited good-naturedly.

"I'm sorry for that phone call last night, alright," Matt finally confessed. "It was rude and I was really mad about Jun and acted like a jerk and took it out on you and that there was a lot of truth in what you said."

"That's it?" Tai asked.

Matt looked confused. "What else do you want me to say?"

"How about 'I'm sorry for acting like a giant, mute douche for these past two weeks at my best friend who was only trying to help me out and diffuse a bad situation before it got out of control but I didn't listen to him and therefore paid the consequences'?" Tai suggested.

"Don't push your luck, Tai," Matt growled, the apologetic aura lingering about him vanishing completely. "You're the one who slammed your locker door on my hand."

"Your hand shouldn't have been in my way," Tai retorted. "It's not like I did it on purpose."

"I couldn't move my fingers for five days after that!" Matt cried. "Do you know how much practice time on the guitar I lost?"

"Oh, so you _were_ faking it for the next nine days then?" Tai pressed.

"The doctor said I shouldn't strain the muscles so I didn't," Matt stated stiffly with a dark glare. "Just to be on the safe side, of course."

"Of course," Tai said turning his attention back to his bento.

"How's Kari?" Matt asked after a couple of seconds of silence.

"Pretty bruised up, but she was went to school today anyway," Tai said. "And she's going back to the Digital World today. She's stubborn like that. How's T.K.?"

"He sounded really tired on the phone, but he said nothing was broken and that he was going back today too," Matt said. "He said it was their duty to stop Arukeniemon—that they couldn't let down the Digimon they were trying to protect. I'm worried about him, all of them. I mean, I know they can handle their selves. They're not little anymore, but they're still just kids and now…"

"They've got BlackWarGreymon to worry about," Tai finished suddenly loosing his appetite.

"I-I feel so… _useless,"_ Matt said in an oddly subdued tone. "We can't do anything to help them."

Tai glanced up. Matt was leaning against the trunk of the tree, shoulders hunched and head bowed, a mask of distress and frustration showing clearly in his narrowed eyes and frown. Tai felt his wall of anger crumble into dust and a surge of sympathy well up at the sight despite his best efforts not to. Darn Matt. Why must he look so much like a pathetic, kicked puppy when he was feeling down?

"Oi, don't you dare go drowning yourself in another one of your emo pity-parties in front of me!" Tai warned lobbing a rice ball at him. It clipped the blonds' head and exploded into a shower of rice grains upon contact, the seaweed strip rolled about it unfurling into the air and streaming merrily behind like the tail of a kite. "And step away from the tree. They're one of the worst places for you to go and sulk under."

Matt blinked as rice fell from his head like pieces of white confetti and stared at him astonished. "D-did you just—?"

"Giving up when things look hopeless has never been one of our strong points," Tai reminded him. "If you want to put a label on how many times we took a beating from our enemies until we were almost dead and still got up for more, 'suicidally inclined' would be a good term. I think we always seem to forget that things never stay the same in the Digital World. Even the digivolution process has changed. Who's to say the younger kids won't find a way to power up an even higher level than have already? I don't think whatever mystic forces that chose us to be Digidestined have planned for our existence to be cut short by some WarGreymon wannabe character. I think we deserve more credit than that, don't you?"

Matt was gaping at him. "Since when did you turn into Izzy?" he asked.

"More like Plato," Tai corrected with a roll of his eyes. "We learned about the Greek philosophers in Literature today. However did you escape out of that class anyway?"

"I have history that period," Matt replied with grin.

"Mmm, invasions, wars, and blood. Lucky bastard," Tai muttered enviously. "All we get is romance, reasoning, and pondering the double meaning behind words."

"Speaking of romance," Matt began, his grin slowly morphing into a broad smirk. "I heard this really interesting rumor about you and Jun in the storage shed behind school—"

"Don't make me dump this whole bento over your gelled, blow-dried hairdo," Tai threatened, inwardly pleased to see that Matt's trepidation had been momentarily swept away by his amateurish philosophical speech.

"Alright, alright," Matt conceded holding up his hands in defeat. "Call it a truce. I promise not to act like an inconsiderate jerk, but you have to at least let me know ahead of time how you're going to 'help me out' so I will understand your intentions. Some of your plans… well, they really suck."

"Thanks," Tai said dryly.

"Don't mention it," Matt said off-offhandedly, shading his eyes with one hand as he look down on the courtyard that was below the sakura trees and benches. "Nice view, huh?"

Some students with the same idea as Tai had taken their lunch outside and were eating it, sitting on the steps and grassy slope leading down to the practice field. Some already finished their lunch had converged onto the courtyard, taking advantage of a few spare minutes of fresh air to play several games of varying sports. And in the tennis courts, a lone girl with copper-brown hair was diligently practicing her hit and swing technique.

"I… hadn't noticed," Tai shrugged quickly diverting his gaze.

"I better go and apologize to Sora too," Matt said, his cheeks seeming to have been pinched a ruddy color from the cold. "I haven't talked to her for two weeks either. I bet she thinks I'm a bigger jerk than you did."

Tai watched him make his way down the slope, practically stumbling in his haste to get to his destination. Sora rushed over as soon as Matt stepped up to the fence that separated them. Even from this distance, the sound of their laughter over whatever exchange was made drifted faintly up to Tai on the wind. He supposed they wouldn't have protested if he joined them, but somehow it felt like he would be intruding on a private conversation. Especially when Matt placed one hand on the fence and leaned his face in close and Sora swung her tennis racket over one shoulder as she swayed her body to and fro in an almost _shy_ fashion.

Then he felt it again. That odd, unrecognizable emotion he had felt in the bookstore when Jun had told him Sora viewed her as a rival for Matt's affection. It was just as painful now as it had been then, perhaps even more keen—like barbed fishhooks tearing into his chest.

The revelation dawned on him just as a few rays of sunlight broke through the thick cloud barrier that covered the sky.

The reason why he had given out Matt's schedule to Jun not just as revenge for kidding him about the Locker Room Incident…

The reason he had tried to give Matt a watch had not been just to save his friend from getting caught in a bloodbath. He hadn't wanted Sora to give Matt a watch…

The reason why he had taken Jun to Mr. Ishida and allowed her the opportunity to get her foot one step further into the door to be nearer to Matt hadn't been just to help her with her dream…

The reason for this bitter coldness in his veins that stung sharper than the frigid weather, this prickly sensation flaying him alive on the inside leaving him feeling sick and angry at the same time as he looked down on both Matt and Sora below so utterly happy with the other's presence…

" _But that's how you know if you really like someone,"_ Jun's words came back to him. " _If you see them with someone else and get jealous."_

oOo

Tai's Haiku Corner

_Courage fails to arise_   
_To realize that I care_   
_For you comes too late._

_To Be Continued…_


	10. All's Fair In Love And War

As much time as it had taken Tai to realize he might like Sora as more as a friend, it didn't take half as long for him to realize that Matt might feel the same way towards her. The fact that Jun had already pointed out that Sora already was reciprocal to the blonds' feelings was like pouring salt on an open wound.

It was maddeningly sickening to watch them in action. The manner in which they both cautiously danced around the other resembled something faintly like that of a pair of birds' pre-mating ritual. In fact, the two seemed to have forgotten how to talk normally to each other.

_In homeroom…_

He had a front row seat to watch the play unfold.

"Hey, do you have a pencil I could borrow?" Matt asked, turning around in his chair to Sora who was seated behind him. "I seem to have lost mine."

"Y-yes," Sora squawked, a nervous giggle escaping out from her mouth before she could stop it. Her cheeks flushed a brilliant, crimson-red as his hand touched hers to take the offered pencil.

"Thanks…" Matt said slowly as if searching for something else to say and coming up with nothing. So he ended up simply staring at Sora for the next ten seconds in an awkward silence doing quite a good impression of a goldfish while the girl turned even redder under his gaze.

"Eyes to the front, Mr. Ishida," the teacher warned. "And close your mouth. If you get drool all over the textbook, you'll have to pay to replace it."

The entire class erupted into a fit of laughter and Matt's neck swung around so fast it was wonder he didn't get whiplash.

_In Math class…_

Tai soon found himself unspoken-appointed mediator between the two somehow.

"Go ask Okuda's group what they think of this problem," Matt told him during Calculus where they were learning Venn diagrams.

"You mean the group Sora's in?" Tai inquired glancing over. The class was composed into six groups of threes, his and Matt's being the only exception with two people instead.

"It would be helpful to get a second opinion," was Matt's excuse.

"What's wrong with mine?"

"Get real. The only diagrams you understand are on the soccer field."

Ouch. Was there really any need to be so… true?

"Why don't _you_ go ask then?"

"Just do it!"

Then Matt shoved him hard out of his chair.

 _Spineless jerk,_ Tai thought rubbing his bruised side where he had been pushed. "Oi," he said wandering over to Okuda's group. "Are you guys having any luck understanding this stuff?"

"Well, have you two made a tree of the various number systems to show their relations?" Okuda inquired.

"Umm… no?" Tai guessed barely comprehending what was just said.

"Find out which sets of numbers are subsets of other numbers," Sora spoke up. "In particular, separate the real numbers into two mutually exclusive sets: the set of rational numbers and the set of irrational numbers. And remember, each set is infinite."

"O…kay," Tai said, his eyes glazing over slightly and returning to his and Matt's desks.

"Well, what'd she say?" Matt demanded impatiently as he sat down.

"Something about… relations being rational and irrational," Tai said, struggling to grasp his mind around the language of math speech.

"Irrational… relations?" Matt cried appearing horrified and a little frightened. "That was her answer?"

"And also that the set is always infinite," Tai finished, quite proud to have remembered that much.

"The set is always infinite," Matt breathed, a stupid, dreamy grin filtering over face. "That's beautiful!"

Tai really didn't want to know. He had always suspected math was a terminal disease that preyed upon the brain.

oOo

Matt and Sora's whatever-it-was may have been developing slowly, but other events were unfolding at an incredibly rapid rate.

Like Jun joining Odaiba High's tv production club. Well, more like hijacking it if you had questioned any of its members. Chizuru Hidaka, the main anchor-girl, could be heard tearfully protesting her abrupt removal from the tv spotlight all throughout the halls. Not only had Jun stolen her post, she had also canceled out the "Ohayo Gozaimasu!" report that aired in the morning before homeroom started and replaced it with another segment that showed during lunch time called "Fact or Fiction—Brave Hearts!" Wild speculation and rumors ran rampant on just how she had managed to enact a hostile take-over of the tv production club, blackmail being the most popular theory. Based on his own experience, Tai was sure some embarrassing photos of the club members were involved. Blackmail or not, "Fact or Fiction—Brave Hearts!" was a massive success. It was a kind of game show version of Truth or Dare in which students submitted fellow classmates' names on cards with the question they wanted them to answer on the back in a drop-box in the school office. The drawing would be done in secret and later that day, the tv production club would ambush the poor, unsuspecting person while they were eating lunch and pounce on them forcing them to play. As long as the victim wasn't you, it was extremely hilarious to see people perform some embarrassing act or answer an embarrassing question. However, the fun didn't stop there. Apparently, to stave off fluent liars, Jun had assembled a jury composed up of three people (different each time so no one would know who to bribe and let them off the hook) who were there to evaluate through eye movement and body motions if the person was lying or not. Four times out of five, the person would crack down and confess under the pressure.

Tai enjoyed watching it as much as the next person. If anything, it at least provided him with a distraction against Sora and Matt's inept flirting and gave him respite from Jun's visitations while he was trying to eat his bento in peace. He could relax, look at the tv hanging on the wall in the classroom and laugh at everyone's amusing antics.

"Konnichiwa, Odaiba High!" Jun chirped merrily as her visage appeared upon the screen, the microphone held up close to her mouth. "Who's ready for another episode of 'Fact or Fiction—Brave Hearts!'?"

Enthusiastic cheering broke out in classroom 2-B and through the open door, more rejoicing could be heard from other classrooms on the floor.

"Hai, hai, everyone!" Jun cried, waving as if she could hear them (and she probably could). "Commence with the drawing, Yusuke-san!"

The camera shifted angles and zoomed in on Jun's assistant, a second-year boy with scruffy bangs obscuring his eyes, looking more like a sheepdog in a school uniform than a student. Dipping his hand into the box on the table in front of him, he rummaged around for a few seconds before pulling out a card only to freeze in his tracks when he started to read the name.

"Hurry and tell us, Yusuke! We only get fifteen minutes, remember. Don't disappoint our fans!" Jun coaxed the boy.

Yusuke peered fuzzily from beneath his bangs first at the camera then at Jun before handing the card to her so she could understand the delicate situation better.

" _Eh?"_ Jun exclaimed blinking several times in surprise at the name she was seeing. "Yamaguchi Seiji?"

A flurry of whispers broke out in the classroom at the sound of Odaiba High's principal's name.

"Who would _dare_ enter Yamaguchi-sensei's name into the draw-box?"

"It's a joke. It has to be!"

"Ah, ah, someone just wanted to test Motomiya's resilience, that's all."

"You don't think she'll really do it, do you?"

"Omigosh, look! They're heading for the teacher's lounge!" someone squealed excitedly pointing at the screen showing the tv production club made as they made their way down the hallway of the first floor and pushed open a door to reveal the teaching staff of Odaiba High seated around a long, rectangular table with assorted lunches spread out.

"Ai-ya, she's going to go through with it after all!" one girl screeched in awe.

"How brave!" cried her friend clasping her hands together dramatically.

"Ne, your girlfriend's got guts, Kamiya," one guy remarked, nudging him with his elbow.

Tai didn't bother correcting him on the incorrect labeling of Jun as his girlfriend. The time had long passed since anyone would believe otherwise. Heck, sometimes his and Jun's relationship confused even himself.

"Hey, you don't think she'll get into trouble?" he asked Matt who was watching beside him.

"Maybe you'll get lucky and the question she asks will get her suspended," Matt said in an effort to cheer him up.

Tai wondered why the thought didn't make him as happy as it should have.

"Yamaguchi- _senseeeei!"_ Jun drawled out stepping lightly over to the principal where he sat with a mouthful of instant ramen noodles dangling from his chopsticks having been caught off guard by the students' intrusion. "You have been selected to play in 'Fact or Fiction—Brave Hearts!' Congratulations! Tell us, which do you choose: truth or dare?"

Silence reigned supreme for several, suspenseful seconds. Tai's classmates waited with bated breath as they stared at the tv and inside the teacher's lounge, the teachers looked on with dumb-founded expressions at the sheer audacity of the girl.

Yamaguchi-sensei chewed his mouthful of noodles, swallowed once, and took a sip from his steaming cup of green tea before turning his attention towards his assailant.

"Truth," he stated, leaning back in his chair with a crooked grin that seemed to say that he had been in the line of school business for so long that he was no longer fazed by any pranks that students could play on him.

The energy in classroom 2-B hummed through the air like an animated bee.

"Yamaguchi-sensei took the bait!" someone shrieked.

"Waaaah, best episode ever!"

"Shh, Motomiya-san's talking!"

"Yamaguchi-sensei, your question is…" Jun read, turning the card over so she could see what was printed on it. "Do you have a crush on Ichikawa-sensei?"

Collective gasps of shocked horror were drawn all over the school.

"Ah, she's dead, she's so dead, dead, dead!" wailed one girl.

"Yamaguchi-sensei will cancel the show for this!"

"Run, Motomiya-san!" someone yelled at the tv.

"I have to remind you, Yamaguchi-sensei, that you have one chance to change to dare if you so wish before you answer," Jun explained seemingly oblivious to the hornet's nest she had just poked with a stick.

The camera showed Yamaguchi-sensei sitting in his chair rigid but stone-faced before switching over to poor Ichikawa-sensei, the art teacher, who was blushing to the roots of her hair pulled back into a tight bun.

"No… no," Yamaguchi-sensei replied slowly. "There's no need. I will answer truthfully. Crush… is such a strong word though. I will say that I admire all of my teachers here and are very proud of their credentials and work, and to single one out individually would not be fair. Neither would pursuing them be… professional."

The teachers were all nodding through heads in agreement as they listened to the principal's reasoning while Ichikawa-sensei's shoulders were drooping slightly in what seemed disappointment.

"However…" Yamaguchi-sensei continued hastily, seeing the woman's sadness. "Every teacher I have appointed has excellent skills and I will admit that I have been attracted to Ichikawa-sensei's wonderful paintings and clay-models more than I expected…"

Ichikawa batted hopeful, big brown doe-eyes at him and the man stumbled over his own words.

"Well, I mean they're spectacular—the craftsmanship and brush strokes are just… amazing! And… Ichikawa _does_ possess a certain ethereal glow about her when she's engaged with another one of her works…"

"Yamaguchi-sensei," Ichikawa-sensei breathed softly. "I think the manner in which you run this school is full of charisma and discipline!"

"R-really?" Yamaguchi-sensei said, his chest puffing out a little bit as he fiddled with the top button of his jacket in a pleased fashion.

"Umm, did he ever answer the question?" Jun wondered out loud, tapping her finger to her chin thoughtfully.

" _Yes,"_ the Truth Jury, three third-year girls Tai recognized as Jun's classmates, sighed dreamily.

"Hai, hai! This has been another episode of 'Fact or Fiction—Brave Hearts!' everyone!" Jun sung as the tv production club left the teacher's lounge (and it's now-flabbergasted inhabitants) behind. "Who's enjoyed it today?"

Wild cheers and applause erupted in Tai's classroom and loud echoes of it reverberated all throughout the school.

"You rock, Motomiya!" shouted a member of the baseball club—incidentally, the same guy Jun had decked out cold with her backwards fist earlier that semester.

"I have to admit, even though she still terrifies the living daylights out of me and I think she's completely crazy, she can handle a tough situation," Matt confessed. "She would make a good reporter, I guess."

"Well, I have a special surprise for you all!" Jun said on screen giggling slightly. "Today 'Fact or Fiction—Brave Hearts!' will host its first double whammy! That's right—before we go off air, one more contestant will play the game!"

Tai was beginning to get a headache from the noise his classmates were making. They couldn't get enough of the show, especially with today's epic episode. His heart went out to whatever unfortunate person would be the tv production club's next victim.

He thought it a little strange when Yusuke held out the draw-box to Jun instead of drawing out the name himself like he usually did.

He got a severe case of chills when Jun grinned diabolically straight at the camera, her brown eyes gleaming mischievously as she reached her hand in and pulled out a card.

What was she…?

"Oho!" Jun cried in a tone that Tai had learned to tell was false surprise as she glanced at the name. "Shall I read their name out now or shall we play a game of Sneak Attack on this one?"

"Sneak Attack! Sneak Attack! Sneak Attack!" the class chanted madly. The students' mantra all over the school was loud enough to be heard echoing on the tv.

"The masses have spoken! Onward!" Jun proclaimed, striking a dramatic pose with her finger pointing forward before taking off rapidly down the hallway leaving the cameraman and crew to follow hurriedly after.

"Hey," Sora spoke up in consternation. "It looks like they're headed for—"

"Greetings, classroom 1-B!" Jun shouted salutations as the tv production crew crashed through the doors of one of the first-year classrooms below. "Is there a Mimi Tachikawa present?"

"Oh no!" Sora clapped her hand to her mouth in dismay.

Mimi's startled expression resembling that of a deer in headlights was caught on camera along with her biting into a pastry before the focus zoomed in on her mouth when she ran her tongue over her upper lip to wipe off a coat of fine powdery sugar that was blotting over her shiny, pink lip-gloss.

"God, I want to be that pastry!" one boy exclaimed feverishly and several other males voiced their agreement.

"I wonder who submitted her name?" Matt questioned.

"Sort of suspicious that Jun drew her name out of everybody else's," Tai commented, having a hard time forgetting Jun's devilish grin like she had _known_ what the card would say beforehand.

"Who cares? Thank you, God!" whooped another male classmate.

"Mimi Tachikawa, we're happy to have you on 'Fact or Fiction—Brave Hearts!' today!" Jun declared seating herself on top of the girl's desk. "Congratulations for being lucky!"

By Mimi's red-face though, Tai thought she might have her own opinions about her luck.

"Your fans want to know, Tachikawa-san," Jun began, flipping the card over to read the back. The girl paused for one breath, looking up and shooting a searching gaze at the camera as if sending a silent message. Tai hated the fact that he knew instantly it was for him. "What is your type of ideal man?" she asked.

"W-w-what?" Mimi squeaked turning even redder.

The boys in 2-B were practically climbing the walls with joy.

"Yes, tell us, Mimi-chan, tell us!" they shouted exuberantly at the tv screen.

"Poor Mimi," Sora shook her head. "That Jun! She has no shame—putting people on the spot like this! It's humiliating to even watch!"

"It's not like Jun's picking on her on purpose," Tai said in what was a surprisingly noble gesture on his part considering he totally thought she had cheated drawing Mimi's name somehow. "It's all a game of chance drawing the names."

"Are you actually standing up for her?" Sora demanded angrily. "What if she Sneak Attacked _you_ on the show one day?"

On tv, Mimi looked like she wished the ground would swallow her whole. She had been surrounded on all sides by her fellow classmates eager not to miss a word of what she would say.

"Well, speak up, Tachikawa-san!" Jun said, patting her gently on the arm. "Don't keep us waiting! Tell us! Are you attracted to the studious, A-student, glasses type?" Jun aimed another searching gaze and diabolical grin at the camera. "Or do you prefer the athletic, sportsy type of guy? Hmmm?"

So that was what Jun was up to. No doubt she thought she was doing Tai a favor by forcing the girl she assumed he liked to reveal her tastes in guys. He supposed that if he really did like Mimi that way he would feel very grateful. As it was, his secret desire at the moment was to get his hands on Cupid, tear off his wings, snap all his arrows in half, and use his bow as a slingshot to send the evil chibi-angel deity down to the Underworld so he could never torment another soul with this twisted emotion known as love. It had done nothing but complicate his life.

"I… I…" Mimi stuttered, clenching her hands into small fists that shook nervously.

Jun leaned forward holding the microphone out to her impatiently.

" _I choose dare!"_ Mimi shrieked.

Mutual groans of disappointment flooded the classroom.

"Smart, Mimi, very smart," Sora applauded her friend on tv smiling. "That's what I call outfoxing someone at their own game, because nothing Jun makes her do can be anymore embarrassing than answering that question."

Okay, Sora obviously underestimated the very persona that made up Jun Motomiya, Tai thought.

Jun was pouting, clearly annoyed that her plans had gone awry. Then a familiar, diabolical grin slid back onto her face as her mind dredged up another sly scheme from within its devious depths.

"Hai, hai, Tachikawa-san, I respect your privacy, of course," Jun nodded very understandably. "So in return, your dare will be..." here Jun tilted her head and whispered instructions into the girl's ear.

" _WHAT?"_ Mimi exclaimed looking absolutely mortified. "Why would you want me to—"

"Now, now, Tachikawa-san, let's not ruin the surprise for our viewers!" Jun _tsk_ -ed, waggling a reprimanding finger at her.

"I changed my mind! I'll tell the truth!" Mimi said frantically, appearing terrified at the prospect of doing whatever the dare was.

"No going back once you switch choices!" Jun stated firmly before turning to her captive audience. "Let's give her a boost of confidence, everyone! Dare! Dare! Dare!"

"Dare! Dare! Dare!" the students cried, picking up the chant.

It looked as if the saying "peer pressure is a dangerous thing" held true for only after a few more moments of this, Mimi stood up from her chair, her face now a pasty-white complexion and walked stiffly out of the classroom as in the manner of someone marching to the gallows to be hung.

"Where is she going?" Sora wondered.

"What's she doing?" Matt asked, scratching his head puzzled.

Tai had a sudden, horrible foreboding feeling as he watched the camera follow Mimi's progress up the stairway to the second floor. He leaped out of his seat and raced for the doorway, wishing he had stayed home and played sick today. He couldn't believe Jun! He couldn't believe that _he_ already had figured out the dare Jun had told Mimi to do.

He couldn't believe he hadn't escaped in time. He thought he was faster than that.

He collided into Mimi as she stepped in front of his classroom's doorway just as he tried to leave it. They stared at each other wide-eyed for several seconds before Mimi looked away ashamed, color creeping back into her cheekbones.

"I-I… I'm sorry, Tai," Mimi apologized in a voice low enough only he could hear, sounding utterly wretched.

Then she leaned up on tip of her toes and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before dashing away with a choked sob.

"Mimi!" Sora called out pushing past him and rushing after her.

The tv production club had caught it all on film of course. The students ate up the drama like candy.

"Kyaaa, Tachikawa-san kissed Kamiya!"

"A new rival has entered the fray!"

"The Love Square has become the Love Pentagon!"

"How does Taichi-sensei do it? _HOOOOW?"_ howled one boy pounding his fist on the desk in frustration.

"It's the hair, dude, it's the hair," his friend said. "It's sheer animal magnetism. The chicks can't resist a guy with a head of hair like a lion's mane."

"I'm throwing myself out the window if my name ever gets drawn," Matt vowed solemnly coming up beside Tai to lay a consoling hand on his shoulder.

oOo

"That was a particularly cruel thing of you to do today," Tai told Jun when she called him at home later that evening.

"Eh? I thought you'd be happy to get a kiss from your crush," Jun said. "I was even nice enough to let it only be a little one on the cheek so you can share your real first kiss somewhere else later."

"It wasn't fair to Mimi. She was really upset about it."

"She was just embarrassed at kissing you in public with so many people watching. Maybe it was a bit much but she needed a little push to get her in the right direction."

"Has it ever occurred to you that maybe she _does_ actually like someone else and feels like she betrayed them now?"

"You mean Glasses-san?"

"It could be Joe or it could be someone I don't know. Either way, you can't force someone to like you. If they do, they'll tell you when they're ready."

"Well then, either Shortcake's going to have to confess to you herself or give up, because you have feet flatter than a duck when it comes to matters of love."

"Don't talk to me about love!" Tai burst out glad he was alone in his room on his cell phone (that Jun had apparently pilfered the number off someone).

He was sick of thinking about it, about these newfound feelings for Sora and tired of trying to ignore them. He didn't want to be reminded of even the littlest things: the way his heart picked up speed when the sunlight got caught in her hair and transformed it from coppery-brown to strawberry-blond; when she quirked up one corner of her mouth in small smile; of the way her eyes sparkled when she had just won a game of tennis or one of their verbal disputes… or whenever she looked at Matt.

"Why not? I am your _girlfriend_ you know," Jun teased him. "Who better to give you advice than me?"

"That can work both ways, so here's my two bits," Tai replied tersely. "If you want even the tiniest, slimmest possibility of you and Matt ever happening, don't ever draw his name on 'Fact or Fiction—Brave Hearts!' alright?"

"Oh my, no!" Jun gasped at the idea. "I don't want Matt and my precious moments together spoiled by a bunch of spectators like we're animals in a zoo! I want it to be somewhere in private in a romantic setting! Tell him not to worry!"

Matt would probably worry even more if he repeated all that to him.

"That was no accident, you drawing Mimi's name today. How'd you do it?" Tai inquired curiously.

"I wrote her name and question on a card myself," Jun admitted gleefully. "Hid it up the sleeve of my uniform and acted like I had drawn it out by chance."

"Now I know why I always lose to Davis at Poker."

"The little twerp is almost as good at cheating as me."

"I'm gonna watch him like a hawk next time we play cards," Tai promised.

"Speaking of watching, do you think I'll be any good? As a reporter?" Jun asked.

"Forget being a reporter. You should start your own talk show," Tai stated surprised that he meant it. "Judging by the school's reaction, your ratings would be up in the millions!"

Jun laughed—an infectious, bubbly laugh. "I bet you say that to all your girlfriends!"

"No, really, even Matt said you'd make a good reporter," Tai shared.

"Matt said that?" Jun cried sounding touched. "This is a sign that he's accepted my choice of career! Now I can make the next move and get closer to him!"

"Wait, what's the next move?" Tai asked apprehensively.

He didn't receive an answer. "Ooh, dinner! Gotta go!" Jun said. "Later, bye!"

Tai told himself he was annoyed at the conversation being cut short rather than Jun not addressing him by his name… again.

oOo

_Message left for Tai on D-Terminal. Not found until bedtime._

**My band and I are putting together a special concert in a couple of weeks for Christmas Eve. I'm sending everyone tickets. Yours and Kari's should come in the mail in the next day or so.**

**You were right about me avoiding Jun all the time. I'm going to tell her the truth how feel about her next time she corners me. Strangely enough, it was Jun's show at school that made me motivated. It must have been all those truth or dares people suffered through. They didn't like the situation they were put in, but they were liberated afterwards.**

**P.S. What kind of gel do you use for your hair? :o**

**-Matt**

_Message left for Matt. Not found until morning._

**That should be fun. Take it easy on Jun when you have it out with her. Try and let her down gently, okay?**

**Cause she's psychotic and obsessive.**

**P.S. It's called In Your Dreams All Natural Not For Blond Rock Stars and it's owned and copyrighted by your truly. XP  
**

**-Tai**

oOo

Tai's Haiku Corner

_Cupid flies around_  
_Like an annoying bug_  
_Flyswatter squish-time!_

_To Be Continued…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you ya'll enjoy all the humorous shenanigans? I hope you did because next chapter onward the roller coaster of action and angst begins! See you all in a week. Muwahahaha


	11. So Much For My Happy Ending

The day for Matt's concert dawned bright and clear. There was a cool and crisp chill in the air that announced winter had arrived as much as the lights, red ribbons and holly wreaths decorating stores announced it was Christmastime.

The older Digidestined were gathered on the beach as they had been instructed to do by the younger members of the group who had been annoyingly secretive and silent for the last couple of days regarding the subject. They were obviously planning some sort of surprise. Tai could hardly stand the suspense. He was glad it would soon be over.

"Any idea of what's going on?" Matt asked him while they waited for the younger kids to arrive.

Tai shrugged, turning his back to him with his arms crossed over his chest as his lips curled in a scowl.

"Oh, come on, are you still sore about those tickets I sent?" Matt laughed.

"You mean those _three_ tickets you sent?" Tai growled shooting a poisoned glare at him.

"One for you, one for Kari and one for Jun," Matt counted on his fingers pretending to be confused. "Did I forget anyone?"

"You have an evil, evil mind, Matt," Tai hissed. "If you were feeling gracious enough to allow Jun into your concert then you could have just sent her ticket along with Davis'!"

"I thought it would be more natural to give it to you so her boyfriend could invite her along. A concert at Christmas is the perfect setting for date, don't you think?" Matt teased with a broad grin, his blue eyes flashing in wicked amusement.

Tai leaped at him hands at the ready to rip his hair from the scalp by its blond roots only to be caught and restrained by Izzy and Joe on either side of him.

"Augh, let me go! I've had about all I can take from these stupid girlfriend jokes!" Tai shouted kicking and struggling wildly.

"You know, it'd be easier for you to quit denying it. Confession is supposed good for the soul, after all," Matt said clearly not realizing when to back down.

"Frackin' pretty boy, banjo-strumming, goth-wannabe, goldilocks pop star freak!" Tai swore vehemently. "I'm gonna punch you so hard, it'll knock the gel out of your hair clean into next week!"

Matt's grin grew even wider, obviously getting a kick out of riling him. It wasn't often that anyone was able to unnerve Tai. It was a case of him enjoying kidding the kidder for once. He opened his mouth to say something else—and Sora beat him to it.

"Quit egging him on, Matt," she chided. "If you two have another one of your childish fights and ruin Christmas for the rest of us, I'll never forgive either of you!"

Matt looked like puppy whose backside had just been swatted with a rolled-up newspaper. "Sorry," he said, his shoulder slumping. If he had possessed ears, they would have been laid flat against his head in shame. He resembled every inch of the word "whipped".

"Tai," he said turning to him. "I just mailed Jun's ticket along with yours because I figured if I sent it with Davis' he'd just tear hers up and think he was doing me a favor. I mean, he would be, but like that would stop her. She'd find a way to break in anyway and possibly crash the concert. It's just easier this way. I know you're not really dating her."

Tai stopped trying to break free from Joe and Izzy long enough to see that Matt was serious. "Well, that's… all you… had to say," he said, his temper cooling off. "Jerk," he added for good measure.

Izzy cautiously relaxed his grip on him once Tai's body language had relaxed. "Honestly, sometimes you two remind me of a mongoose and a snake's relationship: mortal enemies trying to kill and eat each other."

"Who's the mongoose?" Tai asked curiously.

"Izzy," Sora cut in. "Do _not_ answer that."

"Taichi-sempai, guys, hey!" yelled a familiar voice. They turned to see Davis and the younger kids headed towards them up the shoreline towing three large tote bags tied with a gigantic red bow around it between the five of them.

"Wow!" Mimi exclaimed. "Did they stop by the post office and collect Matt's fan mail?"

"If they called us out here to read pages and pages of love-sick soliloquies from obsessed females gushing about their idol, I'm leaving." Tai declared stiffly. "I get enough of that from Jun every single day—oh shut up!" he shouted at smirks on his friends' faces.

"Merry Christmas! We brought presents!" Yolei sung when they finally had reached them.

Tai didn't even have time to begin speculating what was in them for Davis called out a loud "Now!" and then suddenly he found his arms full of an orange dinosaur who had sprung out of one of the tote bags.

"Surprise!" Agumon shouted, his lips stretched back to reveal a mouthful of glistening teeth in a reptilian smile.

"Whoa, Agumon? No way!" Tai cried, as he staggered under the crushing weight of his partner.

Around him, he heard the startled exclamations of the rest of the Digidestined as they were reunited with their partners.

"Well, were you surprised?" Agumon asked, nuzzling his broad snout into Tai's chest. "Davis promised us you would be."

"You bet. Best present ever!" Tai laughed hugging him. "You little sneaks!" he said directing a mock glower at the younger kids. Now he knew what all their secrecy had been about.

Kari giggled delightedly.

"What a wonderful Christmas present!" Mimi managed to sob out, Palmon's Poison Ivy vines wrapped tightly about her as the two clutched each other and cried tears of happiness.

"Oh, speaking of Christmas, Ken invited us to a party at his place tonight so about Matt's concert—well, we were kind of wondering if…" Davis trailed off looking unsure.

"I won't get mad if you guys decide not to come, don't worry about it," Matt said. "Go and enjoy your party. There'll be other concerts."

"Thanks, Matt!" T.K. beamed waving good-bye as the younger team set off.

One by one Digidestined and Digimon dispersed, each to do a little catching up with each other before Matt's concert until Tai and Agumon were the only ones remaining on the bare stretch of beach.

They sat in the sand for several minutes in silence, listening to the faint sound of the seagulls crying overhead and the roar of the crashing waves in the distance.

"So I heard you had a talk with BlackWarGreymon," Tai said, his words slicing through the air with a ring of displeasure to them he had failed to mask.

"You mad at me?" Agumon looked sad at the notion.

"No," Tai sighed, absent-mindedly scooping up a pile of sand in his hand and letting it filter through his fingers. "Just worried. You should know better than to go talking to strange Digimon, especially Mega-level Virus ones. He could have destroyed you."

"But he didn't."

Tai didn't reply and stared down at the tide that was gently lapping around their feet.

"I know he attacked Kari and the others and destroyed the Destiny Stones, but he's not bad," Agumon said with fierce conviction. "I have a sixth sense about these things. Even Azulongmon said BlackWarGreymon had a purpose to serve."

 _Azulongmon,_ Tai thought, the Digimon Sovereign of the Eastern Hemisphere, one of the four guardians of the Digital World. Finally the reason as to why the Digidestined had to give up their Crests had come to light. Give up their Crests to free the guardians so they protect the Digital World from megalomaniac Digimon like the Dark Masters from appearing again. They weren't doing a very good job so far.

"Yeah, well Gollum had a purpose to serve too and he got melted for it," Tai said placing his hands behind his head and lying back.

"Gollum, who's that?" Agumon asked confused. "Is that a Digimon you guys met?"

"Just be more careful, alright? I don't want to lose you."

Tai felt a weight press down on his chest as the small dinosaur Digimon laid his head across it. "You won't lose me, Tai," Agumon promised. "I'll be here whenever you need me."

Tai lifted a hand to rub his partner's smooth orange head fondly. "Even when I'm old and grey?"

There was just the faintest pause between the crashes of the waves. A moment when Agumon's entire body went still under the stroke of his hand before he gave his reply.

"Always and forever."

oOo

It was late afternoon by the time they arrived at Matt's concert. The stage had been set up within a large striped circus tent outside the Fuji TV station and already there was a large crowd lining up.

"Humans seem to enjoy listening to people sing," Agumon commented.

"Yep," Tai said wondering is he should go mull around someplace else for awhile and come back when everyone was inside. He already had tickets.

"It's funny because Digimon don't seem to have the same appreciation for it. Last time I tried, I got chased for ten minutes by an angry Tortomon."

Tai had to stifle a laugh. "Well, some people are just more musically gifted than others, Agumon. Tortomon was probably jealous because he couldn't sing as good as you."

"Yeah?" Agumon tried to puff out his chest but all he succeeded was jutting out his chubby tummy instead.

"Yeah, I mean look at the injustice done to me. I'm limited to only singing in the shower because if I do it around other people, they feel inferior to my talent," Tai shared. "Do you know how many songs Matt has stolen off my creative genius?"

"Wow!" Agumon was amazed. "And you don't mind that he's taking all the credit?"

"Nah, someone has to be the poster-boy and deal with the press. I can't handle all that publicity."

"You're a good friend, Tai. I'm proud of you!"

Tai hid a smile in the corner of his mouth. Sometimes his partner was really too gullible.

"Tai, yoo-hoo!" someone called.

Tai froze. He would recognize that voice anywhere. He was vaguely aware of Agumon taking cover behind a trash disposable. Spinning around, he came face-to-face with a beaming Jun Motomiya wearing a green festival robe over her yellow and white _Teenage Wolves_ fan clothes.

"Are you ready for the concert?" she cried, quivering all over in tiny, miniscule tremors.

"Are you cold?" Tai asked. She only had on a thin long-sleeved t-shirt and shorts underneath that robe. That outfit was meant for summer not the harshness of winter.

"I'm so excited!" Jun squealed. "These are shivers of love! I've worked up my courage! I'm going to confess to Matt today! Heehee!"

A chill that did not belong to the outside weather swept over him, making his blood run cold. Tai knew, he knew of course that his and Jun's relationship was not what it appeared to be to everyone else, that Jun was only using him as a prop to get closer to Matt and yet…

She looked so happy. Her face was glowing, her cheeks flushed pink and brown eyes were sparkling.

_**You were right about me avoiding Jun all the time. I'm going to tell her the truth how feel about her next time she corners me.** _

Her hopes and dreams were going to be utterly crushed.

"Are you sure you should do it now?" Tai asked.

"What do you mean? A concert at Christmas is the perfect setting for date, don't you think?" Jun laughed, ironically echoing Matt's words from before. "It will be a memory to remember!"

It would. Just not the way she thought.

Jun held up a thermal pail in one hand. "I've made Matt a treat to soften his heart as well! Wish me luck!" she said striking off in the backstage direction.

"Security won't let you past!" Tai shouted after her, attempting one final time to stop her, spare her the heartbreak at least for one more day.

"VIP pass!" Jun yelled back, waving the ticket he had given her at school a few days earlier over her shoulder at him.

"Who was that?" Agumon asked emerging from behind the trash disposable and coming to stand beside him to watch the girl flash her ticket at the security guards and be allowed through the checkpoint.

"My ex-girlfriend."

oOo

The late afternoon sun was sinking in the sky dipping below the horizon setting everything ablaze in an orange-red glory. Tai chewed the end of his straw, the soda not doing anything to calm his nervous stomach. How long had it been since Jun had gone to confess to Matt now? Five minutes? Ten? Maybe more? Exactly how long did it take to get shot down anyway?

"You seem troubled, Tai," Agumon said. "Is something bothering you?"

"It's nothing, I just gotta see Matt about something," Tai said getting up from the bench he had been sitting on. "Wait here, I'll be back."

He walked as fast as it was possible without breaking into a run to the security checkpoint… and bumped into Sora just as she got there.

"Oh, Tai!" Sora gasped startled by his sudden appearance. Her face flared red in embarrassment as she tried to hide a red and green wrapped box behind her back.

"Sora… is that for Matt?" Tai asked and Sora bit her lip hesitating, appearing a little afraid to answer.

"Hey, in or out, kids," one of the security guards spoke up impatiently.

They showed them their tickets and were let through the gates. The silence was deafening as they walked alongside each other, tension brewing overhead like a thundercloud waiting to burst. Sora refused to meet his gaze and was looking at the ground as if it was the most fascinating thing on earth she had ever seen. Tai wasn't stupid. He had witnessed enough incidents at school to recognize a girl about to confess to a guy when he saw one. He wasn't blind either. He had known this was coming for awhile now ever since Sora and Matt had started their disgustingly mushy, twitter-pated flirting. He just hadn't thought it would come to a head to this soon. And _why_ did Sora decide to confess to Matt today of all days?

It would be harsh enough for Matt to tell Jun he couldn't return her feelings for her. It would be downright cruel for Matt to choose Sora right in front of her.

Maybe he should try stalling for time, long enough for Jun to vacant Matt's trailer and not see or be seen by anyone.

"So, um, Sora… are you going to the concert with anybody?" he asked in an effort to lead her away from the backstage area. "Not that it matters to me, just wondering." He winced at how lame he had sounded. God, Jun was right. He _was_ faint-hearted when talking to girls!

"No," Sora said seeming to regain her voice. "I want to available in case Matt is free afterwards."

Okay, ouch. Apparently, getting shot down was rather quick… and painful.

So what in the Digital World was taking Jun so long?

"Oh, I see. Matt, huh. That's okay," Tai said laying a hand on her shoulder.

Sora lifted crimson-brown eyes from the ground to blink confused at him, like she had expected a bigger reaction. "You're not… mad at me, Tai?"

"No, of course not." Tai wondered if she suspected even the slightest bit of how he felt about her. She seemed to think that it would upset him if she mentioned she was waiting for Matt. Maybe she was afraid of damaging their friendship, of putting everyone's relationship in jeopardy—two Digidestined dating had never been done before. Obviously, Mimi had not told her about her and Joe's little expedition then. Hurt? Yes. Jealous? Definitely. Mad? No. "Should I be?"

Sora was saved from having to answer by a high-pitched voice calling her name and suddenly Biyomon had dropped from the sky and flown down next to her.

"Did you give him the cookies, Sora? Did you? Did you?" Biyomon chanted, hopping up and down in excitement, pink feathers ruffled every which way from the wind.

"Not… yet," Sora said glancing at Tai from the corner of her eyes. He got the impression she wanted to be alone when she confessed to Matt, which believe him, was totally fine since he certainly didn't want to stick around forced to listen to them utter sweet nothings in each others' ears, however, he couldn't just walk away now. Not until he knew what had happened to Jun.

"Is he in there? Did you knock yet? Remember, you're supposed to knock first like this!" Biyomon chirped rapping on the door with four swift pecks of her beak before either of them could stop her.

The door opened a crack and Gabumon stuck his head around and peered out looking very distressed.

"Gabumon! You don't look so good! Is something wrong?" Biyomon cried in concern.

"Oh, well…" Gabumon said darting a furtive glance behind him. "I'm only a Digimon and I don't really understand human interaction sometimes so I'm not sure what's going on, but—"

" _Just tell me what you want and I'll change!"_

The shriek was feminine and laced thickly with a desperate agony. Tai's heart twisted in his chest at the sound.

"Please… just go." Matt's voice. Resigned. Apologetic. Unyielding.

The door Gabumon was holding onto was ripped from his grasp as it burst open and Jun stood in the entrance breathing raggedly, her face flushed red in raw hurt and humiliation at having been rejected by the one she loved.

Jun's devastated facial expression morphed into one of shock as her brown eyes widened at the sight of the two people in front of her—as did Matt's from behind her and Tai realized he and Sora were standing close together… and he still had his hand on her shoulder.

He jerked away as if he had been burned, but not fast enough. Jun shoved past them with a strangled sob and raced off, her figure disappearing into the blue shadows that twilight was casting.

"Matt, if this is a bad time… we can go…" Sora said putting one foot back.

"No!" Matt exclaimed coming over to the door hurriedly. "No. It's fine. Please, come in."

Sora smiled and stepped over the threshold. Matt placed a hand on the small of her back and looked at Tai who was still standing outside. "You coming?" he asked. There was a gleam in his blue eyes, a calculating gleam as if he was sizing him up, as if he had seen something he hadn't noticed before.

"No," Tai said quietly. "No, I'm going."

oOo

Neon-colored lights were flashing brightly the walls of the tent vibrated wildly to the beat of the music. The sound of a bass guitar, electric piano, drums and cymbals mixed with the screams and cheers of the crowd pounded deafeningly in his ears, yet Tai felt like he was experiencing it all from behind a glass wall. He felt numb, overwhelmed, like he was sinking into a chasm of nothingness.

Sora was sitting beside him on the bleachers, an adoring expression imprinted on her countenance as she gazed at the blond onstage singing. Her own confession must have gone better than Jun's.

Jun… he couldn't forget that horrible broken-hearted look on her face. _I should have warned her,_ Tai thought with a pang of regret.

"Excuse me," spoke up a new voice suddenly over the blare of the music and crowd.

Tai and the rest of the Digidestined looked up to see a girl with shoulder-length brown hair and thick black-rimmed glasses standing a few feet away. There was something familiar about her, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"You're Taichi Kamiya, right?" the girl asked him.

Tai nodded. "Do I know you?"

"No, but our little sisters know each other," the girl said. "I'm Momoe Inoue."

Suddenly her face clicked into place. She looked just like Yolei, minus the lavender hair.

"I came with Jun," Momoe explained. "She had me save our seats and then she said she had something important to do, but never came back. I thought she might be with you."

"She's not," Tai said hoarsely, his mouth feeling dry.

"I'm worried about her. She loves the _Teenage Wolves'_ concerts. She never misses one and always cheers them on," Momoe held up two fuchsia-pink pom-poms in her hands in demonstration. "She left these behind. She never does that. I think something might have happened to her."

Tai and Sora shared a glance between them before Sora looked away first. The act sparked a dull flame of anger in him that snapped him out of his numb state of mind. He was the Chosen Child of Courage and he was afraid to face a girl he had let down? He stood to his feet quickly, bringing Agumon up with him in his arms.

"You stay here," he told Momoe. "Enjoy the concert. I'll go look for Jun."

He took off ignoring the others calling his name out after him. He sucked in the cool night air with one big breath, relieved to have escaped from the large mass of body heat and noise.

"Agumon, do you think you can help me find someone?" he asked setting his partner down.

"Sure, Tai, but it would help me if I knew who I was looking for and what they smelled like," Agumon said.

"Well, Jun is Davis' sister. Does that help?" Tai asked.

"Hmmm," Agumon said lifting his snout into the air and sniffing. "I smell…"

"You smell…?"

"Something really good!" Agumon exclaimed as his stomach gave a gigantic rumble.

"This is no time to be thinking about food!" Tai yelled exasperated.

"Oh, and Jun is over there!" Agumon said pointing one claw a few yards away where a familiar spiky-haired silhouette was outlined under the dim lighting of a streetlamp.

"Jun!" Tai shouted rushing over to her. The girl's back was turned against him, her head bowed low. He reached out to touch her on her shoulder…

Jun whirled around with a scream of rage and slapped him hard across the face for all she was worth.

He staggered backwards stars exploding before his eyes—and Jun slapped him again on the other side of his face.

Tai lifted a head to one of his rapidly reddening cheek and stared speechless at her. The girl wore a furious expression as she glared at him with brown eyes shining with nothing but contempt.

"Did you two have _fun?"_ she spat viciously. "Did you two laugh while planning how to play with my emotions and humiliate me?"

"What—"

" _You knew!"_ Jun screeched, her voice cracking in half. "You knew Matt didn't like me and you let me believe he— _you're a lying monster!"_ She gave something at her feet a mighty kick and sent it spilling its contents all over the ground in a wave that pooled around Tai's shoes.

Stringy, pale-white noodles lying in a light-brown broth that was still steaming surrounded by chopped green onions and leeks with one now-overly cooked egg floating in the midst of it all.

Tsukimi udon.

"Matt doesn't like udon! He _never_ eats udon! He told me so! Right before he turned me down!" Jun cried, her eyes glistening with unshed tears, but not a single drop of water slid out. "You made it up! It's _you_ who likes it not him!"

Tai's throat tightened. He couldn't think of a single thing to say to explain his actions.

"You lied about everything! Matt, the udon, even the girl you like! It's not Shortcake at all, it's Psycho Sora! Well, tough luck! Because I've seen them at school too—her and him! She likes Matt not you! She chose Matt not you! You don't mean a thing to her! You're _nothing_ to her! Nothing! Nothing! _Nothing!"_ Jun shrieked hysterically raising her hand in a clenched fist to strike him again.

Tai grabbed her wrist tightly as it came down, her barbed words fanning the dull sparks of anger in him into a crackling fire. "Stop it!" he ordered, shaking her roughly. "You don't even know what you're saying!"

It took a moment for Jun to get control of herself. She stood there trembling from head to toe, her wrist still held in his grip, then she lifted her eyes up… her pupils dilating to pin-points in shock as they focused on something behind him.

"Tai, we've got trouble!" he heard Agumon shout.

He turned around and was greeted with the sight of a tall, obsidian obelisk rising from ground pulsing red around its edges.

 _A Control Spire, here in the real world?_ He thought wildly. _How is that possible?_

Digimon exploded from the portal beneath the Control Spire's base. It happened so fast, Tai only caught glimpses. He thought he saw Kuwagamon and Snimon as well as Monazemon, but he couldn't be too sure because Bakemon filled his line of vision like a swarm of bees.

But even their sheer numbers couldn't hide the bulk of black hide of red stripes and green spikes down its back and tail: DarkTyrannomon.

The black T-Rex unleashed an enormous roar turning its head in the direction of Matt's concert where faint sounds of music blasted from the opening in the tent. The earth shook mightily as the Digimon stomped one gigantic clawed foot after the other getting closer and closer baring wicked-curved teeth as he growled his displeasure.

Jun tensed in his grip, opening her mouth to release a terrified scream. Tai had the sense enough to clap his other hand over her lips to muffle the sound. "Stay still and be quiet!" he hissed. "Don't draw his attention to us!"

Jun obeyed, not moving a muscle as she clutched at his coat as if seeking protection.

DarkTyrannomon gave another enormous roar as he tore through the lining of the tent along with several Bakemon and put new meaning on the term "party-crashers". Screams erupted from within and people began streaming out trying frantically to escape.

"Wow, I guess DarkTyrannomon really hates Rock," Tai stated as he watched the chaos unfold.

"Tai, look out!" Agumon cried out a warning as he raced towards them.

A posse of Bakemon had them surrounded and spun about their prey in dizzing circles. This time, Tai let Jun scream as loud as she wanted.

"Keep 'em distracted for me!" he yelled at her dialing a number on his cell phone.

" _Aaaaaaah_ —who the _hell_ could you possibly be calling at a time like this? Ghostbusters?!" Jun shrieked her fear momentarily replaced with livid astonishment.

"Hello, Ichijouji residence," said a soft female voice on the other line.

"This is Tai! I need to talk to Kari!"

"You're selling ties?"

"No, my _name_ is Tai!" Tai exclaimed. God, was everybody a total idiot or something? Was he going to be subjected to that awful pun his whole life?

The Bakemon advanced, closing their circle smaller and smaller.

His whole life which was looking pretty short.

"I need to talk to Kari! I'm her brother! It's an emergency!"

"Okay, hold on, please," the woman said.

"Are these more of your monster friends?" Jun demanded as the Bakemon cornered them around the streetlight. "Aren't these the same little creeps who took everyone hostage five years ago?"

"These are not and never will be our friends!" Tai proclaimed.

"Tai?" Kari's voice sounded in his ear. "What's going on?"

"Kari! Come quick! Matt's concert is being attacked by— _ack!"_ he was cut off by a decaying clawed hand that shot out from underneath a Bakemon's cloak and wrapped itself around his throat in a cold grip. The phone tumbled out of his hands to the ground where Kari's voice drifted out calling his name in concern.

His lungs convulsed as his air supply was shut off. The world around him was growing fuzzy, he was feeling light-headed…

"Let him go, you overgrown Kirby rejects!" Jun screamed. He heard a hollow whacking sound and suddenly he could breathe again.

He collapsed to his knees choking and gasping and looked up blearily to see Jun fending off and bashing baffled Bakemon's heads in with the empty thermal pail that the tsukimi udon had been held in.

"Power up! Power up! Yeah!" she cried appearing totally into the game now that she had a weapon.

She was mad.

Insane.

Tai cracked a grin. She was _awesome._

"Tai, I'm here! Don't worry!" Agumon called leaping into the fray.

_Whack!_

The small, orange dinosaur went down under the mighty wonder that was made up of Jun Motomiya… and her soup bucket.

"Hey, he's on our side!" Tai exclaimed flinging his arms around his partner before Jun could finish him off with another blow.

"Oops," she said not pausing in between swinging right and left to look at the damage she had dealt; she couldn't afford to be distracted.

"Tai!"

Tai searched through the sea of swirling Bakemon trying to see who had called his name. It was Izzy. He and the rest of the Digidestined were huddled together in a small group in front of the now-destroyed tent and concert, gazing his direction in trepidation.

"I'm fine!" he shouted at them. "Go help the other people!"

People were being chased by rampaging monsters all over the place. A cluster of Numemon here, a Snimon and Kuwagamon there, herding people like frightened sheep. It was like a scene straight out of one of those old _Godzilla_ movies only much less cheesy.

"No, Tai! Up there! Look out!" Izzy cried pointing upwards.

A shadow passed in front of the moon. A shadow with wings and twin metal gun-claws for arms.

Megadramon let out a roar of victory as it fired off countless missiles from his arms in a Dark Side Attack that rained down upon the earth with destructive force, sending up sheets of debris and slabs of concrete. Even the Bakemon were wise enough to get out of the way.

Unfortunately, that just made Tai and Jun better targets.

"Move!" Tai yelled, grabbing her by the arm and hauling her along. With a stunned Agumon tucked under his other arm, it was a rather slow process. So, in the end he just threw them all face forward into the ground barely leaping free as an explosion rocked behind them covering them in a fine sheet of dust and rubble.

" _Thunder Blast!"_

" _Rock Crackin'!"_

The twin attack cries were like music to his ears. Heavenly, angelic music. None of that electric bass guitar stuff Matt loved so much.

The Control Spire toppled over on its side with a dull _thunk!_

"Never fear! The cavalry is here!" Davis sung out riding on Raidramon's back with Ken behind him.

Tai would have remarked that they cut it just a little too close for comfort, but he was too busy hacking the dust out of his lungs and spitting grit out of his mouth.

Next to him Agumon stirred and opened dazed green eyes.

"Agumon, are you alright?" Tai coughed out. "Can you hear me?"

"Mmm-mmm," Agumon mumbled shaking his head slightly as if to clear away the dizziness.

Tai raised his head cautiously and looked about. The older Digidestined's Digimon had all digivolved into Champion as a result of the Control Spire being destroyed. They were busy rounding up the evil Digimon towards Nefertimon and Pegasusmon who looped a golden noose around the bunch as slung them towards Izzy and Joe who were holding a laptop computer out towards them, a portal to the Digital World open and waiting to take its stray inhabitants back home. Paildramon was currently engaged in fighting Megadramon and Monazemon at the same time, but he seemed to be handling it pretty efficiently, especially when the rest of the younger team's Digimon DNA-digivolved into their Ultimate forms to help out.

Everything seemed to be going fine without his and Agumon's assistance. Perhaps they should just lie low on this one. Agumon was still recovering from Jun's whack-job on him.

Wait a moment. Tai sat up abruptly as he noticed her conspicuous absence. Just where was she anyway?

He received his answer from the girl's shrill scream when Numemon that the others had missed popped out in front of her and got her squarely in the chest with his Sludge Attack.

" _Ew!"_ Jun shrieked, her complexion turning green as she stared at the pink gunk smeared over her shirt. "Ew! Ew! Ew! Grooooss! You're gonna pay for that, you disgusting, green amoeba!"

Picking up a reasonably-sized rock with both hands, she lifted it over her head and took aim, ready to make a green pancake out of the Digimon, but it was already scurrying away as fast as it could go.

"That's right, you better run!" Jun screeched after it, grim satisfaction plastered across her face along with smudged of dirt, scratches and bruises.

The Numemon hadn't been running from her though.

A familiar roaring cry split the air sending chills down Tai's spine and numbing him to the core. DarkTyrannomon appeared through the swirling clouds of dust behind the girl having found his newest victim by following the sound of all the racket she had made. The black T-Rex's thick tail was already uncurling in preparation…

A wad of saliva that dripped out of the corner of the dinosaur's mouth and splattered on the ground by her feet was the only warning Jun got. She didn't even have time to turn around and look…

Tai was barely aware of himself springing up and throwing himself arms around her. There was no time left. He couldn't push her forward; he couldn't pull her back out of harm's way. The only thing he could do was provide his body as a shield and protect her from the brunt of the Digimon's attack.

DarkTyrannomon's tail lashed out like a whip, like a sleek black snake striking its prey in high speed. It swatted the two puny humans aside as if they were nothing but annoying gnats.

Tai literally felt the air rush out of his lungs as he was slammed backwards into the remnants of what had once been a supporting column of a shopping center. Now it was broken. Broken like him. He heard something crack loudly in his body yet oddly felt no pain. Maybe he was paralyzed. He saw Death coming swiftly for him in the form of an enormous black dinosaur, he distantly heard people shouting over the wall of fire blazing so tall and fiercely, threatening to envelop and welcome him into its warmth, but he couldn't move, couldn't think. Jun was slumped over limply in his arms, her chest rising and falling in slow succession as she drew in shallow breaths and nothing else mattered.

The ground beneath him shook and trembled as a heavy weight trampled across it and a dark shadow slid over him. His vision blurred for a few seconds and when it had cleared, the shadow was gone and so were the fires that had burned so brightly. Nothing but ash remained.

Not ash.

Miniscule, black particles… digital data.

DarkTyrannomon…?

The moon peaked from behind its cloud cover, shedding its rays of light upon the earth below, unveiling the large orange and blue-striped T-Rex with a horned helmet that had been his savior.

 _Greymon,_ Tai tried to say, but the words wouldn't form. His vocal cords felt as if they had been glued shut.

"Tai! Oh my god, Tai!" he heard someone yell his name in a panic, joined by several other voices.

Then there were figures of people all around him, their voices buzzing about his head making no sense whatsoever and too many hands reaching for him.

"Don't touch him!" the order was barked out clear and sharp.

The hands obeyed, backing off and letting the new voice through.

"Tai? Tai, can you hear me?" the voice asked in a soothing and calm tone. "Do you know who I am?"

Tai blinked several times. There was a patch of brown hanging over his right eye obstructing his view. He somehow dimly realized it was his bangs. He looked out of his left and tried to recall who the head of indigo-colored hair belonged to.

Ken?

Ken didn't wear glasses.

"J-Joe…" he slurred out through puffy, swelled lips.

Joe smiled at him relieved.

The air slowly returned into his lungs… and with it suddenly came the pain. Horrible, agonizing, crucifying _pain._ He felt like he had shattered every bone in his body.

He tried to scream, but all that came out was a dry cough and the taste of copper in his mouth.

"Joe," someone said from behind him—a girl's voice. "Joe, he's bleed—"

"Try and stay awake, Tai, okay?" Joe said smoothly combing over the others' words. Tai watched him motion someone over to where he squatted in front of him. "Call for an ambulance, Izzy," he whispered in low tone from behind his hand.

"J-Jun..." Tai managed to gasp out. Her body lay draped across his arms but she hadn't moved at all, not once.

"She's just knocked out," Joe said in a soothing manner, trying to calm him. "Don't move right now, ok?"

"How… bad… is it—" Tai wheezed tilting his head at an angle trying to see the extent of his injuries.

Joe blocked his line of vision, placing the palm of his hand over his eyes.

Tai laughed weakly. "T-that… b-bad, huh?"

His vision was blurring again and with it came a different kind of darkness creeping up on him, beckoning him to succumb to its depths.

"Stay awake, Tai," Joe frowned.

"C-coach is gonna… k-kill me," Tai said.

Then his world turned black.

_To Be Continued…_


	12. Interlude

_DarkTyrannomon's tail lashed out like a whip, like a sleek black snake striking its prey in high speed. It swatted the two puny humans aside as if they were nothing but annoying gnats._

Tai and Jun were sent flying backwards by the Digimon's unexpected attack. They hit the support column with a sickening thud. Tai, who was holding Jun tightly against his chest, took the brunt of the blow. A loud cracking sound filled the air as the broken column splintered straight down the middle. His body made a soft thumping sound as it made impact and remained where he had fallen half-slumped over on the ground, Jun sprawled out across his arms which hung limp at his side.

Neither of them was moving.

" _Tai!"_ Kari screamed her brother's name rushing towards him despite her friends' efforts to stop her.

DarkTyrannomon ignited towering, blistering fires within a ten-foot radius around him with his Fire Blast Attack pushing back the older Digidestined's Digimon with its intense heat and effectively cutting aid from arriving to his victims.

The ground beneath them shook and trembled as a heavy weight trampled across it. Only the head of DarkTyrannomon's massive form could be seen outlined from behind the giant, blazing fires, his attention focused solely on something on the ground in front of him, something that the base of the fierce orange and red flames shielded from their eyes…

" _Oh, stop! Stop! STOP!"_ Kari shrieked frantically.

Paildramon disengaged his locked claws with Megadramon's to try and get there in time. He was snagged backwards in mid-air when Megadramon's tail curled around his right ankle as he tried to leave that whipped him around and slammed him violently into the rooftop of the Fuji TV Station.

Monzaemon didn't appear to want let his adversaries go without a fight either. Shakkoumon was warding off blue Hearts Attack bubbles that threatened to freeze him in place while Silphymon struggled wildly to escape a suffocating Silence Hug from the over-sized teddy bear's grip.

Every second DarkTyrannomon drew closer and closer to snuffing out two human lives whose light flickered pale in comparison to the brightly burning fires around them.

An ear-splitting roar of rage vibrated harshly off the Digidestined's eardrums as the form of another T-Rex rose up from behind the fire wall and charged furiously into DarkTyrannomon's side with a furious swipe of his horned helmet, shoving the enemy violently away from his intended prey.

"Grey…mon," Kari whispered. But the Digimon hardly resembled the one she remembered as her brother's partner.

Greymon's eyes were narrowed into slits and glowing a smoldering crimson color consumed by a terrible, blinding blood lust. Claws and teeth flashed wickedly in the moonlight as the two T-Rexes battled with each other. DarkTyrannomon's tail whipped out and dealt another deadly blow that sent Greymon smashing through a building's stone work. The walls, already weakened by the Digimons' attacks before came crashing down as concrete and debris flew everywhere in a massive cloud of dust and fire. Greymon was lost to their sight, disappearing in the smoke and stone. Undeterred, DarkTyrannomon turned his head towards his goal…

" _Nova Blast!"_

The cry rang out with a mad vengeance along with a stream of scorching flames that belted out of Greymon's open jaws. They enveloped DarkTyrannomon like a fiery tornado. Nothing but a twisted, charred corpse in the figure of T-Rex was left behind. It stood still under the moonlight like a monument to the sky before a slight wind picked up the ashes—data—and swept them away into the darkness of the night.

The same wind that briefly fanned the wall of fire into extraordinary heights before the flames exhausted their energy and having nothing else to feed on other than crumbled rumble and dust collapsed into nothingness.

Jun and Tai lay in the exact same position they had last been seen in looking pale and still as Death itself.

Kari was dimly aware of herself running forward shouting Tai's name frantically, other voices joining in the clamor.

Tai lay slumped over, half on the ground with his back propped up against the support column. His eyes were open but glazed over and unfocused. For one horrifying second she thought he was dead… then she spotted the slow but steady rhythm of his chest falling and rising as he breathed.

She reached out a hand towards him—just to touch him, just to feel the warmth of his skin, just to make sure he was really _alive_ —seeing others doing the same in her peripheral vision.

"Don't touch him!" the order was barked out clear and sharp.

The Digidestined jerked back abruptly and Joe pushed his way through a tense, worried frown on his face as he knelt down beside the two. Placing two fingers under the girl's neck he checked her pulse and found it: throbbing steady and strong. He couldn't see any other injuries she had suffered other than a stunning blow to the head that had made her lose consciousness. Seeing nothing more he could do other than keep her warm until aid arrive, he took off his coat and draped it over her, before turning to Tai and calling his name.

For a few, anxious, heart-stopping moments Tai showed no signs of response. Then his eyelids fluttered faintly as he blinked and attempted to focus on the person in front of him.

"J-Joe…" he slurred out through puffy, swelled lips.

A relieved smile spread across Joe's features.

It lasted until Tai took a deep, rattling breath full of air … and acute _pain_ flashed across his face as he coughed up a tell-tale liquid that oozed out in a shiny, red pearl-shaped drop from the corner of his mouth.

Joe's mind raced wildly. What was it the medical books said about coughing up blood? Didn't that indicate a punctured lung? Tai hadn't moved a muscle from his current position either. Was he unable to? Paralysis perhaps?

"Joe," someone said from behind him—a girl's voice. They sounded young... and scared. Kari? Yolei? "Joe, he's bleed—"

"Try and stay awake, Tai, okay?" Joe said smoothly combing over the others' words, pushing down the irritable urge to snap at whoever it was. Wasn't it obvious that Tai was bleeding? No need to vocalize it and cause the victim—no, don't think of Tai that way—to panic! He motioned for Izzy who approached with no hesitancy whatsoever. Good. He needed someone who could think sensibly and remain calm. "Call for an ambulance, Izzy," he whispered in low tone from behind his hand.

"J-Jun..." Tai managed to gasp out, worry flaring through the pain in his eyes as he struggled to lift his arm to feel for her.

"She's just knocked out. Don't move, ok?" Joe said in what he hoped was a soothing tone.

"How… bad… is it—" Tai wheezed out tilting his head at an angle trying to see the extent of his injuries.

Joe blocked his line of vision, placing the palm of his hand over his eyes. Truthfully, he wasn't sure himself yet. Tai didn't appear to be bleeding anywhere except from his mouth. There were no bones sticking out grotesquely or limbs contorted into shapes that no human limbs should be in. Perhaps the reason that he had hardly moved attributed to the fact that he was in shock from the violent trauma his body had recently gone through. Perhaps he was suffering from a concussion like that one that had knocked Jun unconscious. No. No, something was wrong, something and didn't know what. And all he could think of to do to avoid questions he didn't have answers to was prohibit the chance of Tai asking.

A weak chuckled gurgled from within Tai's throat. "T-that… b-bad, huh?" He seemed to be having difficulty in keeping his head upright. It was bobbing up and down in exhaustion and his eyelids were beginning to droop heavily, a familiar, hazy mist creeping back into his brown irises.

"Stay awake, Tai," Joe frowned.

"C-coach is gonna… k-kill me," Tai said probably not even realizing what he was talking about, his chin sinking onto his chest as he slipped into a comatose state.

"Tai!" Kari cried sounding near-hysterical.

"It's alright!" Joe said shooting out his hand to ward her off from making any sudden, mindless moves like trying to shake her brother awake. The last thing Tai needed was to be shaken. "He just blacked out—that's probably a good thing. He couldn't handle the pain."

"The ambulance is on the way," Izzy said quietly in a numb tone that Joe understood more than he liked. This scene was all-too reminiscent of the fight with Piedmon. Tai had ended up in pretty much the same state then as he was now. No, now it might be worse.

A muffled whimper broke through the stunned silence that had crept over everyone like smothering blanket.

It was Yolei. She had both her hands pressed tightly against her mouth as she stared wide-eyed from behind her glasses looking like a bewildered and frightened owlet that had fallen from its secure nest into a cruel reality.

"He d-d-destroyed… D-Dark…Tyra—" she choked out her voice cracking in half, gazing at Greymon in a kind of horrified trepidation.

She had never seen one of their partners destroy another Digimon, Joe realized. It had only been Control Spire Digimon that they had deleted. For all their experience as Digidestined, the newest members of the younger team had never been in the same situation as everyone else. They hadn't been stuck in the Digital World for months with no prior knowledge of what their purpose there was, without any clue of what Digimon, digivices or digivolutions entailed. They hadn't had to constantly deal with each other and survive on a daily basis together. Survival which often enough depended on destroying real live Digimon who posed a threat to their existence.

 _Perhaps we sheltered them too much,_ Joe thought seeing how Yolei's face had grown pale and pinched, at how Davis had come over to stare down with an unreadable expression at his sister spread out so seemingly lifeless.

There was a brilliant flash of orange light as Greymon de-digivolved back into Agumon and when it had dispersed the orange dinosaur was lying face-down on the ruined concrete of the sidewalk.

"Agumon!" Kari exclaimed starting towards him.

"Wait!" Gatomon cried leaping in front of her and spreading both gloved paws out wide. "Don't go near him!"

"What?" Kari asked in confusion.

There came an odd, strangled growl behind her. Kari whirled around to see Agumon climbing unsteadily to his feet, his body racking with violent tremors that weren't just from the cold. The pupils of his green eyes were narrowed into slits, his lips twisted back into a savage snarl exposing sharp, glistening teeth. He looked wild, vicious, feral… almost like the time he had been under the control of the Dark Spiral.

Kari took a step back. "W-what's wrong with him?"

"DarkTyrannomon used to be a Tyrannomon who got corrupted by a Virus, right?" Izzy voiced out loud catching on rather quick.

"Right, and anything DarkTyrannomon sinks his teeth into, the Virus gets transferred," Gatomon said watching Agumon with a wary, measured gaze.

She would be aware of that fact, Izzy realized. There had been a DarkTyrannomon as one of Myotismon's henchman.

"How do we help him?" Kari asked a tiny quaver slipper past her lips. She had almost lost her brother. She didn't want to lose his partner either.

"Just wait it out for a couple of minutes. Agumon's a Vaccine-type. He can fight the Virus more easily than Tyrannomon could," Gatomon explained.

The waiting was unbearable. One minute went by. Two. Three. Four. Five. And all the while, Agumon stood in place, locked in a mad delirium fighting the Virus within.

Then finally, the small, orange dinosaur gave a heaving gasp as a shudder raced throughout his body like the last aftershocks of an earthquake and collapsed where he stood. _"T-Taiii,"_ a soft moan slipped out of his mouth as his body began trembling again but for a different reason this time as moisture collected at the corners of his tightly-shut eyes.

Gatomon relaxed her guard and Kari raced past her and gathered Agumon up into her arms, wiping away the clear liquid that trailed down his cheeks with her scarf.

"It's alright now, Agumon, it's alright," Kari soothed not believing her own words. Not when Tai lay unconscious, his injuries unidentified, not even ten feet away.

"It's _n-not!"_ Agumon cried opening green eyes wide that were glassy and shining wetly. "I only r-realized today. Even as l-long as I've been with Tai… I d-don't k-know… m-much ab-bout humans… but I do k-know… they don't rem-main the s-same like us. They c-change… g-grow older… _d-die._ And when they d-die… _humans aren't reborn at Primary Village!"_

And there were absolutely no words of comfort anyone could think of to give to that except to sit in a stunned silence over this new found revelation and listen to the approaching wail of the ambulance in the distance.

oOo

_"You won't lose me, Tai. I'll be here whenever you need me."_

_"Even when I'm old and grey?"_

_"Always and forever."_

_To Be Continued..._


	13. Accidentally In Love

Tai awoke in a drowsy and disoriented state. His vision was blurry and for the first few moments he saw nothing but a world of white. His ears appeared to be in perfect working condition however. They picked up the sound of a steady _beeping_ situated somewhere close; of the quiet _tap-tappity_ noise he had learned to recognize over the years of being friends with Izzy of someone typing away at a keyboard; the scratching of a pen against a notepad; the rustle of someone's clothes and the scoot of a chair nearby…

Tai blinked several times and slowly his surroundings came into focus: stark, white ceiling and walls. He was lying on crisp, linen sheets and an automated bed with an IV drip sticking out of his arm. He identified an EKG machine as the culprit for the annoying _beeping_ sound as it steadily monitored his heartbeat from the numerous electrodes he could feel stuck to his chest underneath the material of his gown.

Gown… a hospital gown… he was in a hospital…

That wasn't all too surprising considering what had happened last night. The memory of Matt's concert, the Control Spire, the uninvited Digimon, and the battle that had entailed soon after drifted back rather fuzzy.

At least he assumed it was the day after last night. There weren't any windows that he could see outside. Just a heavy curtain ringed about his bedside. Just how long had he been out?

More importantly, what had happened to Jun?

He had tried to protect her from DarkTyrannomon, but what if he hadn't been fast enough? He tried to sit up a straight in bed and a dull, burning pain flared in his back causing him to hiss and sink back against his pillows finding relief in their soft coolness.

That was when he noticed he was wearing a neck brace. What—?

"So my knight in shining armor has finally caught up on his beauty sleep, has he?" a familiar mocking tone rang out causing Tai's heart to race wildly… and for the EKG machine's sensors to go haywire.

Jun sat in a chair by his bed with her arms crossed looking no worse for wear except for padded bandage taped to her left cheek, faded bruises and dark shadows underneath her eyes as the only other indicators that she had been in the thick of monster fighting.

"You're alive!" Tai exclaimed, a giddy, light-headed sensation sweeping over him almost blocking the abnormal ache in his mouth that had ignited when he spoke.

"And you're lucky to be too, Mr. Foolish Hero Complex!" Jun shouted in an accusatory tone as loudly as she dared, her lips pulled down into a disapproving frown.

"What—wait… you're _mad_ at me for saving your life?" Tai asked in disbelief, wincing at the painful throbbing of his tongue at every word he uttered. It felt like someone had sliced it wide open with a blunt, butter knife.

"Who said I needed saving?" Jun shrilled, her face turning red in either anger or embarrassment or perhaps a combination of both. "I was doing fine on my own, I'll have you know! I took on those Pac-man ghosties all by myself and intimidated that green amoeba thing with my mere presence! I could have dodged that Jurassic Park dino's tail too! But nooo—you had to go acting all Mr. Tough Guy and Superhero and look where that landed you! Is it some badge of bravery to be stuck in the hospital, huh? Does it make you feel good about yourself?"

Tai was beginning to see how Jun dealt with situations. When she liked something, she pursued it relentlessly. When she was happy, she flung her joy around like rainbows jutting off crystal prisms that the sun had touched. When she was upset, she put up a charade of anger and lashed out blindly to hide her concern and fear.

"I'm glad you're alright," he said smiling. "The world… wouldn't be as much fun without you in it."

Jun stared at him unblinking for a couple of seconds as if he had said something extraordinary. Then she glanced at the IV bag hanging to his right and raised an eyebrow. "Just how _drugged_ do they haveyou?" she asked getting up from her seat to check the dosage. "I better get the doctor. They told me to notify them the minute you woke up anyway."

Tai caught her wrist as she turned to leave. "Stay." The word slipped from his lips before he could stop it. He scarcely even knew what he was saying or why. He only knew he didn't want her to go. "Just a bit longer. Stay here… with me."

Twin pink splotches blossomed in Jun's cheeks. "Che," the girl scoffed shaking off his grip. "Men are such babies." But she resettled herself back in the chair nonetheless.

"Where am I?" Tai asked looking around. He couldn't be in his own hospital room. Not with that curtain encircling and closing him within the small allotted space.

"ICU," Jun replied promptly. "They're holding you here until they find out the full extent of your injuries. You weren't conscious last night for them to do anything more than a physical examination."

"And you know this because—?"

"Well, I was in the ER too!" Jun stated defensively. "I was only knocked out for a short while and treated for a concussion. Then they needed personal information about you so I helpfully provided it."

That didn't sound so good. "What kind of information?" Tai pressed.

"Oh, it was just technical stuff like allergies and your blood type. So I told them if you ate crawfish you would break out into hives, that your blood type was B, and that you were the biggest, most idiotic numskull to ever grace this planet."

" _What?"_

"Then I asked if I could stay with you and they said only intermediate family in the ICU so I asked if girlfriends count and they wanted proof that I wasn't making all this from the top of head, you know because apparently, I have a lump the size of an ostrich-egg there from Mr. T-Rex and could have been delusional since who the heck would voluntarily want to become your girlfriend with a personality like yours plus let's not go into your wild, bushy hair-style or the fact that it could shelter an entire birdhouse in there, so I told them about that weird birth-mark on your lower left-hip that's shaped like Mickey Mouse's head," Jun declared in one, giant rush of breath. "What? Have you forgotten the Infamous Locker Room Incident?" she explained as Tai gaped at her. "Oh, pay no attention to me, I was up all night and they have a free latte machine out in the hallway."

"You... must have been really worried," Tai stated in wonder.

"Ha! You'd like to think that, wouldn't you!" Jun exclaimed laughing a little over-excitedly. "I was _so_ not! I just wanted to give you a piece of my mind first thing if— _when_ you woke up! You're still not off the hook for not telling me about Matt! You're gonna make all those hours of me needlessly laboring over a hot stove cooking and preparing bentos that he could care less about up to me somehow! I don't care if you really do have a spinal fracture! That excuse is not gonna cut it!"

"W-what?" Tai said feeling like he had just been dealt another blow of DarkTyrannomon's tail. He became acutely aware of the dull pain simmering in his back suddenly.

"I-Ignore me," Jun told him. "That was the coffee talking!"

The loud cracking sound he had heard when he had hit the support column flashed to Tai's remembrance. The powerless feeling of being unable to move…

He found himself wiggling his toes and testing his legs out frantically, the panic diffusing slightly when the muscles responded to the brain signals without any hesitation. Obviously his upper body functions were in working order too if he had managed to grab hold of Jun earlier and that had been no mean feat—the girl was fast.

Gingerly, Tai touched his neck brace. "Isn't this what they put on people who are paralyzed? I can move though… why do I have it on?"

"I had to wear one of those ugly chokers too for awhile," Jun said grimacing. "According to the guys in the white coats, 'in the presence of severe head trauma, cervical fracture must be presumed until ruled out'," she repeated making quotation marks in the air and rolling her eyes. "They clearly don't know how hard-headed we are. I bet they'll remove it once they do some more check-ups on you."

"Maybe… it's not that serious—I don't feel much pain," Tai said shifting his weight around.

"That's because you have so much morphine pumping through your veins it could knock out a camel!" Jun scolded. "And stop moving around and putting pressure on your spine—you'll make it worse!"

"Excuse me, Mom," Tai muttered.

"What was that, _eh?"_ Jun said leaning forward and giving him a light flick in the forehead with her fingers.

"Ow!" Tai yelped, clapping a hand to the sore spot and glaring at her. "Hey, I thought it was an unspoken rule never to injure the injured!"

" _Such_ a baby," Jun sighed shaking her head sadly.

oOo

Considering he had thought the Grim Reaper had come for him in the shape of a giant T-Rex last night, Tai thought the day hadn't turned out too bad, even when the doctors came in and informed he had been diagnosed with a Thoracic Compression Fracture, which when translated into common speech, meant that some vertebrae in his upper back had been fractured when DarkTyrannomon had slammed him into the support column.

Good news: The fact that he wasn't experiencing significant numbness or tingling meant that there most likely, the broken vertebrae hadn't pinched any spinal nerves that could cause paralysis. The x-rays, CT, and MRI scans all taken after this pre-evaluation pretty much gave the same assessment.

Even more good news: the medical staff had decided his fracture wasn't severe enough to need surgery and was nothing a bed rest and a back brace couldn't cure.

Bad news: The bed rest consisted of one to three weeks and wearing the brace consisted of six-twelve.

When he had tentatively brought up the issue of soccer, more importantly, the game being held in the Tokyo Soccer Stadium that he was supposed to play in just a few days, he had been met with a resounding, appalled "NO" from the doctors and another flick to the head from Jun.

Which he wished she hadn't done, because after that, the nurse dragged her away by the ear on the grounds that she wasn't helping her patient heal any faster.

Hey, Tai _had_ tried to warn her.

So he had no witness to sign the will he had diligently written out himself once he had been given his own room after all the neurological and image tests were finished. He decided to leave his entire soccer collection to Davis, his Playstation, Nintendo, Gameboy and Wonderswan to Izzy, and generously donated the rest of his homework to Joe. He made a side note for Kari to get rid of some unimportant magazines under his bed and to delete all the history in his computer. (He also scribbled an apology about tearing the stuffing out of her toy rabbit when she was three but then hastily scratched that out deciding it was better if she continued thinking Miko had been the culprit). He didn't have anything he thought Mimi would enjoy so he gave her a bit of friendly advice instead: _Dear Mimi, Joe is a great guy. I hope you two will be happy together. Don't be mad at him for taking you on such a lame date to the bookstore. The poor guy's totally new at this. Cut him some slack. P.S. I think your hair looks better natural too. In any case, you won't get nick-named Strawberry Sundae or Shortcake as often._

He paused when he got to Sora and Matt. He hadn't wanted to think about them again so soon, but now he was faced with bidding them a fond farewell before the soccer coach barged into his room and strangled his former star player with his bare, meaty hands. His pen hovered above the blank sheet of paper for several seconds as he waited for inspiration, but no words came to him. Even his divine poetry had fled from him. How the Haiku God had fallen…

Tai discarded the will in disgust as flipped on the tv before he fell into a sulking state. Maybe he could catch the last fifteen minutes of the Power Rangers Arbor Day Special. He was alone with no one around to tease him on still watching kid shows.

Only it wasn't on. Instead it was newscaster giving a report on how several black towers had sprung up overnight all over Japan as well as the rest of the world and bringing more monsters with them.

Tai struggled to push back the drowsy fog that had settled over him from the painkillers as he tried to think clearly. More Control Spires and rogue Digimon… and he was no more informed than the rest of the people who had no knowledge of the Digital World. What was going on?

It was in that instant, he realized he had no idea where his digivice or D-Terminal was. He hoped one of the Digidestined had removed them and not one of the hospital staff. It was crucial they were not to be lost. He had to assume the Digital Sovereigns didn't hand out refunds.

He really didn't have much time to worry about the missing objects though, because then his parents burst into the room acting like he was on Death's doorstep and he had to focus the whole next hour on assuring them he was very much alive and had every intention on continuing to be so for a long, long while yet.

His mother seemed to think he was suffering from a grand case of delusion and kept sympathetically patting the top of his head between hysterical bouts of sobbing in which she apologized for not coming any sooner. Apparently, there had been a power outage on their block and electricity ad phone lines had been restored until several hours later when Kari finally was able to make contact with them and tell them what happened—it seemed she had never made it home either for some reason. Then there had been a mix-up of what hospital exactly he had been taken to and his parents kept asking his forgiveness.

They only calmed down once the doctors had given them the same diagnosis they had told Tai earlier and verified yes, their son was very lucky and that they had seen worse fractures than his before. Then his dad went to sign some papers and Tai was left with his mother who started fussing about the hospital food and how she was going to bring him some good, wholesome homemade meals and Tai had to clamp down on his tongue to refrain from telling her he'd rather starve than die.

That was when he felt the puffy, swollen laceration on his tongue, the reason for his discomfort talking earlier, and discovered one of his back molars was missing. Dimly, he remembered the taste of copper in his mouth after being slammed into the stone column and realized that the force of the blow must have knocked his tooth out as well as him to bite down on his tongue deep enough to cause bleeding. He hoped this wasn't going to affect his chewing much, because he loved eating steak and if he had to give that up, that was going to _suck._

The handle to the door turned downward as someone pushed the door open and Tai spent a few, fretful seconds wondering if the coach was mad enough to throttle him in front of his mother and if he should play dead only he wasn't sure if even a corpse would be safe from the coach's wrath.

"Helloooo!" Jun called as she entered the room stopping short when she saw the woman sitting by Tai's bedside. "Oh, you must be Mr. Foolish Hero Complex's mom."

"Hmm?" Yuuko Kamiya blinked in confusion at the unfamiliar visitor.

"Mom, could you leave us alone for awhile?" Tai asked, beads of sweat breaking out across his brow. The last thing he wanted was for Jun to recount the story, complete with her own unique anecdotes, about how he had saved her last night. As far as his mom knew, he had been at Matt's concert and was unfortunate enough to be one of the casualties when the Digimon had attacked. If she found out he had done something as stupid as rescuing the girl whom he was supposedly dating, she was likely to start gushing about true love and destiny and other romantic trash.

Yuuko may not have comprehended the full situation, but she obviously grasped part of it. "Ne, ne, Taichi, she's that girl who always calls you on the phone and you talk to her all night when you think no one notices, isn't she?" his mother whispered to him from behind her hand with a slight giggle.

"Just go already!" Tai shouted feeling his face burn, not caring how disrespectful he sounded.

"Ah, ah, Mama approves," Yuuko said winking at him before getting up, exchanging a nod with Jun on her way out.

"She seems nice," Jun said once the door had closed. "How did she ever spawn a son like you?"

"Why are you still here? I thought they kicked you out."

"I believe the correct term is 'checked out' and they can't. Not until my parents sign papers. It looks like they might have run into the same trouble as yours. It's not just power outages, it's all these black towers and monsters running amok causing panic. People are evacuating the areas they were spotted in and it's causing massive traffic jams and delays, but if you're watching the news you probably know that by now," Jun said eyeing the tv suspiciously. "Hey, isn't that the channel where they show teen dramas and cartoons?"

" _Anime,"_ Tai snapped grouchily, switching the tv off. "And I was just flipping through stations and the news bulletin was on, that's all."

"Mmm-hmm, Davis watches that channel all the time," Jun smirked knowingly.

"Is there any particular reason you're sticking around?" Tai asked changing the subject. "I thought you were angry with me."

"Oh, I _am_ ," Jun proclaimed narrowing her eyes. "You're a total jerk. I trusted you. I shouldn't have, I know. That was my fault. But I guess I should have realized guys watch each other's backs warn them about 'psychotic, obsessive' girls, huh?"

Tai felt his stomach give a sickening lurch at the familiar quote. "Is that what Matt told you?" he asked.

"You mean the fact that you agreed with him on that point?" Jun snorted sarcastically.

Tai didn't try to deny it. Somewhere down the line their relationship had blurred between enmity and friendship until it had been difficult to remember that the basis of them spending so much time together was nothing more than blackmail plain and simple.

"Well, here it is straight from the horse's mouth: you can tell Matt not to worry about me chasing him anymore. I'm transferring back to my old school. He can rest in peace! Him and you and all of your monster friends!" Jun announced whirling on her heel to go.

Tai stared at the girl's retreating back, a numb kind of fear welling up inside him. He reached out a hand towards her, but she was too far away to grab like before. "Wait," he croaked hoarsely and she stopped just short of the door and turned around to face him a cool mask of indifference, as if she was just being a good sport to hear him out, as if she didn't _care_ what he had to say _._

Tai licked dry lips nervously as he searched for something, anything that would make her change her mind, but he was no rhetorician. Where was Democrates when you actually needed a dead Greek philosopher around? Still, he had to _try,_ or he knew he would regret it for the rest of his life.

"I don't think you're psychotic and obsessive at all."

Okay, first attempt going by Jun's unimpressed expression: major fail.

"You're _so_ lying!" Jun shrieked.

"I am not!" Tai protested as the girl glowered at him hostilely in disbelief. "Okay, I am, but that's not the point! That's part of the reason why I like you!"

"What?"

"What?" Tai echoed as the realization of what he had just said slowly filtered to his brain.

Jun was staring at him wide-eyed her face having lost all its color. Her mouth kept opening and closing as she tried to form words, but no sound was emitting.

" _Like!"_ Tai yelped mortified, struggling to explain. "As in how an astronaut likes space or a confectioner likes his cakes or—oh, shut up, you traitor!" he roared at the EKG machine that was monitoring his heartbeat and had begun beeping at an alarmingly fast pace.

Damn the morphine for loosening his tongue and dulling his senses that he had let his guard drop! Well, actually that wasn't true. His sudden proclamation had surprised him too.

They stared at each other in a stifling, uncomfortable, awkward silence that seemed to stretch for eons… then there came an almost inaudible knock at the door before it swung open slowly revealing the faces of four familiar people who looked into the room hesitantly as if afraid of what they might find.

Joe, Izzy, Davis and Kari.

Tai blanched at the sight of them. He sincerely hoped they hadn't heard his confession mere moments before—oh my god, he had freaking _confessed_ to girl. In a hospital bed. In nothing but a _hospital gown._ He suddenly wished DarkTyrannomon had eaten him after all, because it would probably be even more embarrassing for him to give into the urge to crawl under the covers and never come out until adolescence had passed him by.

"Tai!" Kari gasped in relief at seeing her brother awake, his visage stark in contrast to what he had looked like the night before. Rushing over quickly, she restrained herself from throwing her arms around him and hugging him breathless—she still didn't know how bad his injuries were—and settled for slipping her hand into his. "You're alright!"

 _That was a matter of opinion,_ Tai thought.

"Prodigious!" Izzy exclaimed, the worry receding from his face as he gave him a thumbs up and turned to Joe. "See, I told you he'd be fine."

"But, you were coughing up blood…" Joe said looking at Tai, still not entirely convinced.

"Bit my tongue," Tai mumbled feeling the heat pool in his cheeks as he glanced sideways out of the corners of his eyes at Jun still frozen by the doorway.

"Why are _you_ here?" Davis, who had been oddly quiet all this time, asked his sister harshly.

"Excuse me, twerp?" Jun cried snapping out of her daze. "What's with that rude tone?"

"Go away! You don't belong here!" Davis shouted at her angrily.

"Oh, I see, planning more of your monster meetings are you? Am I interrupting?" Jun replied mockingly. "Maybe I should sit in as an uninterested, neutral third party and give you all advice since last night proved how completely incompetent your little beastie friends are at tactics—"

" _HAVEN'T YOU DONE ENOUGH?"_

Davis' words seemed to vibrate off the walls. Jun stared at her brother startled by his violent exclamation before looking up and locking gazes with Tai. Something dawned in her eyes, a revelation known only to her, and a small, unrecognizable sound tumbled past her lips. It was a low, keening cry full of anguish that was quickly smothered as the girl turned and fled from the room.

"That wasn't nice, Davis," Tai said finally understanding. Jun had been ashamed. Ashamed that she had gotten him injured and had hidden it behind her anger. She _was_ angry at him and had every right to be, but she was ashamed as well that he was stuck in a hospital because of her and Davis had shoved all the built-up guilt right in her face.

"Y-yeah? Well, she wasn't nice either! The hospital room was empty where she was supposed to be in and no one knew where was and she could have been d-dead… Mom and Dad are frantic looking everywhere for her and she's in here being as mean and snotty as usual!" Davis yelled his voice cracking in half as his shoulders started to shake uncontrollably.

"Davis," Kari said softly, her hand sliding out of her brother's grip as she went over to place her arms around the boy in gentle embrace. "It's okay—it's natural to be worried about your siblings…"

Only it wasn't, Tai realized. Not for Davis. His and Jun's relationship was far different from the rest of the Digidestined who had brothers or sisters. It must be a completely new experience for him and Davis was clueless on how to deal with it or how he should feel about it.

Davis turned away from them all as he tried to discreetly rub his eyes and with the exception of Kari who never took her arms from around him, they all pretended not to notice.

"So what's the diagnosis they have you in here for?" Izzy asked him going over to his bedside.

"Fractured spine," Tai admitted. "Apparently, I was lucky enough to _not_ break my legs and I still won't be able to play the last game of the season."

"Are they… par—?" Joe trailed off.

"Nope, I can move 'em," Tai said raising one knee up slightly from beneath the sheets. "I'm just going to be out of commission for the next couple of weeks."

"Ah, well, I didn't think you'd be well enough to go today anyway," Joe stated as if a puzzle had been solved.

"What do you mean? Where is everyone else?" Tai asked glancing around finding it strange and feeling a bit miffed that the others hadn't come. Not even Sora. Or Matt. Some best friends he had.

"It's not that they don't care—they all wanted to come," Izzy spoke up as if reading his mind. "But they're waiting in the park by Tokyo Bay for us to come back. We couldn't leave without checking up on you first."

"Leaving?" Tai repeated confused.

"Have you heard yet about all the Control Spires popping up all over the world?" Izzy asked.

Tai nodded.

"The portals to the Digital World where they came out have all closed so we have to go to each of their locations and open it with D-3," Izzy explained. "We're splitting up the teams. Each of us older Digidestined are going with one of the younger kids—well, except for T.K. He's going to Paris alone since you can't come, but he says he'll be alright, his granddad lives there."

"So, in other words, you guys get to go off on your world-tour leaving me alone and defenseless against a murderous soccer coach, did I get all that right?" Tai asked slightly irritated at himself for missing out on all the fun, although rampaging monsters terrifying innocent civilians should hardly be described as fun. Still, it was a chance to see other countries and he was going to miss it.

"Don't worry, I'm sure Agumon will protect you," Izzy laughed.

"Agumon!" Tai exclaimed as if a cloud had been brushed away from his brain. Then he felt terrible. He hadn't so much as given him a single thought all day—Agumon who had saved him. What a wonderful partner he was turning out to be. "Where is he? Is he alright?"

"He's staying over at Mr. Ishida's house," Izzy shared. "It was Matt's suggestion. I offered my place since my mom figured out about the whole Digimon-being-back thing watching the news, but Matt insisted. Mr. Ishida understands about Digimon too, so he'll take care of him until we get back."

Agumon wouldn't be any use without him, Tai realized with some chagrin and felt the first stirrings of contempt and disgust for his injury overtake him.

"It shouldn't take that long," Izzy continued on talking. "Not since Imperialdramon can travel really fast."

"Imperialdramon?"

"Paildramon's Mega form," Davis proclaimed turning back around to face them all with a proud expression, his whites of his eyes tinged red. "He digivolved today when Gennai gave us power from one of Azulongmon's Digi Cores!"

"Gennai? Digi Cores?" Tai's head was buzzing and dizziness swamped his senses all of a sudden. There was an annoying echo in the room…

"We'll explain later. Get some rest, Tai," Joe said spotting the fatigue that his friend was fighting. "The others will be glad to hear you're doing alright. You gave us all a scare last night."

"Kari," Tai said as his sister came to say good-bye. "Tell Agumon… he's the best partner in the whole, entire Digital World."

A smile broke out across Kari's face. "That will mean more to him than you know," she said promising she would.

"We better go. It's getting later every minute," Izzy said checking his watch.

Even with the medication causing extreme drowsiness and staving off most of the pain didn't douse the insane urge he had to rip the evil contraption off his friend's wrist and smash it against the wall. The only thing that stopped Tai was that his limbs felt too heavy at the moment and doubted he'd be fast enough to succeed.

"Yeah, we have to go save the world now! See you, sempai! Davis yelled excitedly. "Woo-hoo!"

 _Unabashed little bragger,_ Tai thought as lifted a sluggish hand to return the farewell his friends and sister were waving from the doorway.

Then they were gone and he was alone and there were no more distractions to obstruct him from remembering what a complete fool he had made of himself spewing out a confession to Jun who had just been rejected by someone _she_ had confessed to the night before.

He didn't even know if she liked him back.

Heck, he hadn't even known _he_ had liked her like that! But he must have, otherwise he never would have put himself in such a humiliating position.

Or would he? Maybe it had just been the effect of the morphine that had made him say that. Maybe he had been around her so long in so close a proximity tangled up in her wild schemes to snare Matt he had developed an unhealthy attraction to her—something similar to Stockholm Syndrome.

But that was merely wistful thinking, he knew. He was caught—hook, line and sinker by Jun Motomiya and what was crazy was that he didn't mind at all.

oOo

Tai's Haiku Corner

_Whatever future_   
_Comes, I'll not regret telling_   
_You I'm glad we met._

_To Be Continued..._


	14. Just To Let You Know I Care

Tai supposed he must have dozed off soon after his incredible epiphany for the next thing he knew he was waking up groggily and his mom was sitting by his bedside again.

"Such a shame you have to spend Christmas in the hospital, Taichi, but at least my baby is alive and safe and sound," Yuuko simpered once she saw he was awake, tapping the tip of his nose with her finger in a motherly gesture.

" _Mooom_ … not in front of the nurses," Tai hissed, his eyes sliding to the two young women in white uniforms, one of whom was replacing his IV bag with a new dosage of painkillers and the other waiting with a tray of food she had just brought in. Both of them giggled appearing immensely amused and Tai wondered if he had a sign stamped across his forehead reading "Taichi Kamiya: Perfect Target For Females To Practice Embarrassing Techniques On."

"Ah, ah, I understand. My little boy is trying to be brave and strong in face of adversity!" Yuuko nodded growing teary-eyed as she ruffled his hair. "He has such a noble heart!"

"Just kill me now," Tai muttered pulling the sheets over his face as the nurses broke out into full-fledged tittering and whispering between themselves.

"Oh, I forgot! Kari asked me to give these to you on her way out," Yuuko exclaimed and it was with great reluctance but curiosity that he drew the sheets away to see two familiar objects in his mother's hands.

His digivice and D-Terminal.

"Are you still playing these video games, Taichi-kun?" Yuuko chided disapprovingly. "You're sixteen and only have one year of high school left. You should be focusing more on your studies, not on senseless things that will get you nowhere in life!"

If she only had just a _smidgeon_ of an idea of just how far the digivice took her son…

He had a chance to look at them once the nurses left the room after giving him another check-up and when his mother took a break to use the restroom. Flipping the cover of the D-Terminal up, he checked to see if he had any messages and found several waiting.

 **Hey, Tai, sorry for not coming to see you in the hospital, but Izzy insisted we had some of the older kids stay behind with the younger ones to "guard" Imperialdramon—as if we could successfully pull off hiding something the size of Godzilla. I suppose I** _**am** _ **the only option left since the brainiacs of the original group are all over there with you and if I went too that would mean leaving the** _**girls** _ **in charge. I shudder to imagine—ow! Okay they both just hit me for that.**

**-Matt**

**I am perfectly capable of taking charge too! I can so lead! I've done it before and I was wonderful!**

**-Mimi**

**Actually, I don't think you should put down your experience at Shogungekomon's castle as your best example^^;;**

**-Sora**

**Sure, make** _**one** _ **little mistake and people never fail to dredge it back up later! You can't deny that I was a stellar singer though. I should be the pop star not Matt! What's wrong with this picture?**

**-Mimi**

**Well, Matt** _**can** _ **compete with you in the feminine appeal department. He may even be better at it. :)**

**-Sora**

**Until he's man enough to embrace pink in all its power he's got nothing! Nothing! XP**

**-Mimi**

**The day I wear pink is the day I become an astronaut! DX How did we even get off on this subject anyway?**

**-Matt**

**You were being a male chauvinist pig and we had to knock you down a peg.**

**-Sora**

**I was not! Oi, Yolei, fetch me some Aquafina would you?**

**-Matt**

**Hey, Tai, this is Sora. Matt got nailed by a bottle of water to the head. He may be joining you at the hospital, who knows^-~ Anyway, we were going to talk to you on the phone, but Joe called on the way out and said you looked really tired. So, we thought we'd chat this way even though you probably won't see it until we're off. I'm glad you're alright. I think what you did was really brave.**

**Reckless but really brave.**

**-Sora**

**Be wide awake and ready to boast about your injuries gained by heroic actions when we come back!^w^**

**-Yolei**

**Please hurry and get better, Tai. They say it's every man's dream to be surrounded by girls but they don't realize what a nightmare it is in reality. They're abusive and domineering. ;3;  
**

**-Matt**

**Haha! He just got hit by three more water bottles! XD Girl power!**

**-Mimi**

**We would just like to state for the record that we dislike being incorrectly categorized as girls. Get well soon, Tai!**

**-T.K., Ken and Cody**

Tai felt a grin stretch across his face and a warm glow kindle in his chest as he read the messages. The hurt, shunned sensation he had felt earlier when the rest of his friends hadn't come along to see him was swept away at the words printed out on the D-Terminal's screen. He had known beforehand that they did care even if they hadn't shown up but a little verbal acknowledgement was nice to stomp on that creeping doubt every now and then.

 **Hey guys,** he wrote, typing a return message, **I expect a lots presents and souvenirs when you get back. I deserve them after all! Can't wait to show you all my horrific battle scars! :)**

**P.S. Serves you right, Matt, you male chauvinist pig you. XP**

**-Tai**

The phone on the wall beside his bed rang interrupting him. Tai picked it up, assuming it was for him since the line was assigned to this particular room, however he was at a loss for who it could be. His friends were all thousands of miles away by now in different countries and as far as he knew, they didn't have international calling on their cell phone plans. He supposed it could be one of soccer teammates or—he shuddered—the coach himself, but instead he was greeted by a gruff baritone voice.

"Hey, kid, heard you weren't faring so well last night. You doing alright now?"

"Mr. … Ishida?" Tai asked.

"Someone here is eager to talk to you," the man chuckled before another voice piped up, "Tai? Tai, is that you?"

"Agumon!" Tai exclaimed happily.

His partner sounded just as excited to hear his voice too. "Tai, I was so worried!" Agumon cried. "They took you away in one of those white Ambulancemon and no one knew what had happened to you!"

Tai recalled his parents being just as confused as to what hospital he had been taken to as well. "I'm fine, Agumon, don't worry. You saved me, remember? Thanks, buddy."

"But I was almost too late," Agumon said sounding distraught. "It was just like before—when you all first came to the Digital World and we couldn't digivolve until the last moment and our partners had to defend us in the meantime. I've become completely useless!"

So Agumon was feeling the brunt of his power being diminished. Perhaps Tai wasn't as alone in his feelings of regret and resentment towards the Digital Sovereigns as he had thought.

"Agumon, you're not useless," Tai said firmly. "I don't know how or why, but this is just temporary. You'll get your power back someday. Maybe all this happened for a reason. Maybe now, the younger kids will realize they can't hold back all their strength in battle simply because the Digimon they're fighting is real. You showed them what they have to do."

"You didn't have to almost _die_ for me to do that!"

"Would you have destroyed DarkTyrannomon otherwise then?" Tai asked quietly. "If I hadn't been in mortal danger?"

Agumon was silent for a few moments. "No," he admitted in a sullen tone. "Not if there was no need to. I would have just sent him back through the gateway."

"See? So the lesson was harsh and taught the hard way, but it was learned nonetheless," Tai said. "And I survived, so please stop beating yourself up over this. You did all you could at the time."

"Tai…" Agumon spoke up hesitantly. "Where do humans go when they die?"

Tai faltered. He hadn't much thought about it. It wasn't something kids thought about. In fact, Takashi-sensei often remarked to the class that it wasn't until they were out of their teenage years that people stopped and look around and realized they weren't immortal. But it did happen. People died. Everyday. He saw it on the news. In the newspaper. Even at school: a boy in Mimi's class. It had been a horrible car accident. One day he was alive and there and the next day… he wasn't.

Death was quick and snuffed life out like a candle. Humans had grown to accept this fact—that there was no escaping it. Perhaps that's why people tried to live life to the fullest. To make the most out of it before their turn came.

People knew they would die one day, but as to where they went once they died…

"Tai?"

"I… I don't know," Tai said. "It's not something we talk about much. Some say there's nothing afterwards. Some say you'll go to heaven. Others say you'll be reincarnated—have a new face, a new name, a new life. There's lots of different theories."

"But, but... if you're someone else, how will I be able to find you?!" Agumon burst out.

 _Oh,_ Tai thought realizing the reason why his partner sounded so distressed. It must have been quite a grim revelation for a Digimon to have.

"Agumon, I think I know why humans don't like talking about Death," he said. "There's no real answer to it and if you think about it too much, you'll drive yourself crazy. But I promise you I won't be dying any time soon. This is now and I'm right here and I swear nothing will ever break the bond we share, not even Death, alright?"

"T-Tai..." There came a deep intake of breath on the end as if the small dinosaur had just sniffled heavily. "I don't want to live without you."

"I know, Agumon," Tai said softly. "The same goes for you."

They eventually moved on to other topics: Tai's spinal fracture, Mr. Ishida's cooking which was almost as bad as bad as Mrs. Kamiya's it seemed, wondering how the others were doing on their grand world tour adventures, but the conversation remained there at the back of their minds never fully fading from remembrance. It would stay there, Tai guessed, for a long, long time.

oOo

The sun was setting in the horizon, its rays filtering through his window to dye the white walls of his hospital room a splendid golden color. It was this time yesterday that Tai remembered he had been sitting on a bench waiting for the results of Jun's confession to Matt. It seemed like decades had passed considering he had confessed to her himself not mere hours ago. A confession to which she hadn't even graced him with a reply.

 _She could have a least rejected me with a 'Hell no!'_ Tai thought stirring the gunk on the plate the nurse had brought him that they had the audacity to label as dinner.

He didn't know what to think of this weird silence with no word whatsoever from her. Okay, so she had been rather wrapped up in anger and guilt the last time he had seen her, but still… he had fully expected a phone call with her screeching insults at him by now.

The sound of snoring reached his ears and Tai looked at his dad who had switched places with his mom while she had gone "home to cook him a decent meal". Hmm, actually, this hospital food wasn't quite so bad after the first few gags.

Tai recalled how he had felt when Sora and Matt hadn't come and seen him and how happy he had been to receive their messages. Maybe he should be the one to take the initiative.

He wouldn't have done it if it was his mother there instead, even if it looked like she was sleeping. The woman had ears like a hawk and eyes in the back of her head. However, his dad appeared to be sleeping heavily going by the thundering depth of his snores.

Picking up the phone off its receiver, he called Jun's cell number, his fingers fairly flying over the buttons as he dialed from memory.

"Moshi, moshi," she answered after the fourth ring, J-pop music blasting in the background.

"Uh," Tai drawled not sure what he should say. He honestly hadn't expected her to pick up the phone. "Hey… it's me," he finally said as if it weren't obvious. "Listen, about earlier today—"

"What? Hold on, I can't hear you. You're gonna have to speak up. Me and my friends are doing karaoke!" Jun practically shouted into the phone as the music blared impossibly louder.

Well, it was nice to know that the girl wasn't off somewhere wallowing in churning vestiges of _guilt._

"I _said,"_ Tai yelled as loudly as he dared so as not to wake his dad, "about earlier today—"

"PSYCH!" Jun shrieked laughing crazily. "This is my voicemail, _sucker!_ Hahahaha! God, I can't believe you _fell_ for that whoever you are! Leave a message at the tone. Nya, nya!"

_BEEEEP!_

_Why that, that no-good … porcupine-head!_ Tai thought irritated.

"Oh, so very clever," Tai snapped at the recording system. "But I've heard better ones bef—"

"Omigawd, did you fall for that one too?" Jun's voice popped up again startling him. "That beep was from the microwave! Just how gullible are you? Here's the real one, _baka!_ Hahahaha! If you actually leave a message after this, maybe you're worth talking to after all!"

_BEEEEP!_

"Okay, that last part was pretty good," Tai admitted smiling in spite of himself. "Anyway, Jun, about earlier… I hope I didn't scare you or anything. I mean, don't take 'like' so literally. I just meant that you used to freak me out. A lot. And now you don't . Well, not as much. I mean," he said hastily, feeling like he was failing to get his point across. "I don't mind that you still freak me out. It's perfectly fine if you want to. Not that I think you do it on purpose… some of the time. I mean—I don't know what I mean. Look, I totally don't blame you on what happened. I would have done it again even if I knew I'd end up in here, okay? So please, keep on being psychotic and obsessive. Because you're awesome like that. Gah!" Tai yelped at his slip. "See? You can use 'like' that way too! Um… bye!"

He hung up hurriedly, practically slamming the phone back on the receiver and buried his flaming face in his hands. God, that had not gone the way he had wanted to at all. Could that have been any more humiliating?

A sniffle echoed throughout the room and Tai looked up to his dad wiping away a tear that trickled down his cheek as he beamed watery-eyed at him.

"That sounded just like the phone call I made when I first started dating your mother," Susumu Kamiya stated fondly, clapping his son heartily on the shoulder. "She cooked me a meal that gave me food poison and sent me straight to the ER, but it was worth it! That's my boy!"

Unsurprisingly, this piece of news did not make Tai feel any better of course.

oOo

Sunset had long gone, twilight was fading, and night was coming in. From his window, Tai could see the city's lights twinkling like a thousand fireflies. Since it was Christmas, a lot of couples were probably out on dates and friends were having parties. He wondered what it would have been like if he hadn't been stuck in the hospital. If Matt's concert hadn't been attacked, Control Spires hadn't mysteriously sprung up all over the world and everyone had rushed off to bring them down. Would they all be celebrating together? Or would have Mimi and Joe and Sora and Matt wanted their romantic night out? Would he… have still confessed to Jun? Probably not. He wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing at the moment though.

The door to his room slid slightly ajar and Tai wondered why his dad coming back so soon from the need to stretch his legs as he claimed. He had only left minutes ago. Personally, Tai had expected him to get lost and not be back for a while. Susumu was abysmal with directions and reading kanji.

"Yo," greeted a familiar figure with a head of spiky chestnut hair as she stepped through the doorway.

Jun stood there, a few paces from his bed, looking distinctively uncomfortable as she fidgeted most uncharacteristically, both arms behind her back as she gnawed her bottom lip.

"Interesting voicemail you have," Tai spoke first breaking the ice.

"Isn't it?" Jun laughed a bit nervously. "Well, it wards off undesirable phone calls, I'll tell you that. Interesting message you left too."

"Yeah," Tai said, his mind drawing a blank at what else to say.

"Yeah," Jun echoed as she idly scuffed her shoe across the floor's surface.

Neither of them mentioned his "confession" from earlier, if that even what it was.

"Well, I thought you might be hungry and if you really want to get better you have to eat some decent food, so I brought you this!" Jun explained in a rush, whipping out something from her back.

A sealed clear, plastic container that was filled with familiar white noodles, light-brown broth and an egg floating in the middle.

"I didn't make it 'cause I didn't go home, but I when I got your message I just happened to be near this udon shop so I went it and bought some so it's fresh and well now that I know that you like it…" Jun trailed off appearing embarrassed.

Tai could feel the stupid, idiotic grin spreading out across his face, but couldn't stop it and really didn't want to either.

"Oh, just be thankful and eat it!" Jun huffed catching sight of his expression and flung the chopsticks at him narrowly missing on poking out one of his eyes.

The pointy ends bounced off his forehead instead leaving indent marks.

Tai was a firm believer in the saying, "love hurts."

oOo

"I guess I should have listened to you when you said I needed to tone down my hyperactive tendencies and glomping attacks, huh?" Jun stated rather morosely as she sat by his bedside.

"I believe I threw 'obsessive stalking' in there too," Tai said as he took a big mouthful of noodles. Oh yes, so much better than hospital food and a zillion times better than anything his mom made. Best damn food invention on earth.

"You know, I've received the whole 'it's not you, it's me' speech so many times before, but this time it really hurt," Jun admitted with a sigh, placing her elbows on her knees and resting her chin between her hands.

"Wasn't it you who once said 'no one dumps Jun Motomiya, Jun Motomiya dumps them?'" Tai pointed out.

Jun glared at him. "My, you certainly have a clear mind this visit. They must be cutting down on your dosage. Sure, they may have started to dump me, but as soon as I heard those words, I made sure to cut them off and dump them first. The situation reversed on them so fast, they never knew what hit them, haha!

"But you didn't this time?"

"No," Jun said seeming to curl inward on herself. "I wanted to know what he didn't like about me. Why I was so unappealing to him. He didn't even give me a reason at first. He just said he didn't feel that way about me. That I was wasting my time pursuing him. That he would never feel the same way about me that I did for him. So I pressed him until he finally admitted I was too psychotic and obsessive for his taste and quite frankly, I frightened him."

"You know, you're not really psychotic and obsessive. You're just a bit too… over-enthusiastic at times. You push too hard, even when something is supposed to be fun," Tai said recalling Fact or Fiction—Brave Hearts. "You need to relax sometimes. Really relax."

"Che, fine advice from the guy who struck out with the girl he had a crush on," Jun lashed out.

Tai's jaw muscles stopped chewing as he paused with the chopsticks halfway to his lips.

"Oh, god, I'm sorry!" Jun cried gripping her hair. "See? I say things without thinking and I _hurt_ people! That's probably another reason why Matt doesn't like me! I must sicken him! No wonder he chose Psycho Sora instead! She's probably a lot nicer! And she knows how to act feminine too! Not as well as Shortcake, but she's way better at it than me! Is that why my relationships don't last? Are guys really scared off by my behavior? Augh!"

Jun appeared to be on the verge of having a nervous break down.

 _Just tell me what you want and I'll change!_ Jun's words from that day in Matt's trailer came sharply back to Tai's memory.

"Don't ever change who you are, Jun," Tai said abruptly. "Don't turn yourself into something you're not just for someone else's sake. Know your true self and don't be ashamed. Maybe… I did like Sora once. But the person I admired isn't there anymore..."

No more soccer-playing tomboy. No more seeing who could out-belch each other. No more climbing trees or racing bikes. No more trading insults over her stupid hat and his useless goggles. His friend had changed, evolved into a strange creature called female and his feelings along with her. Only she wasn't the same person anymore and he hadn't been sure which version of her he had started to form an attraction to. But now… now it was all becoming clearer.

Jun looked at him and laughed shakily. "You know, you have a real way with words even if they're not true in the slightest. You should forget soccer and go into politics. You'd rock the government right out from under this country's nose."

"Jun…" Tai said, putting the hand that still held his chopsticks down seeing that the girl was trying to change the subject. He hadn't been able to get through to her. "Ah!" he hissed all of a sudden at the pain that flared up in it.

"What's wrong?" Jun asked in a voice that actually sounded concerned.

"Ah, it's the IV needle. It sticks me every time I move my arm," Tai frowned, rubbing his hand lightly over the bandaged spot where the IV was inserted into vein. It had to be his _right_ arm too. Like the hospital staff was _trying_ to make eating their food even more of a torture than it already was. Now, he had a bowl of delicious soup in front of him and it was a trial just getting the noodles to his mouth.

"Such a baby," Jun remarked, her catch-phrase of the day it seemed, and grabbed the bowl of udon and chopsticks from his grasp.

"Hey, what're you doing?" Tai squawked as Jun shoved the chopsticks full of noodles in his face.

"Going by my experience, men who don't eat are grouchy, grouchy, grouchy!" Jun declared. "Plus, I did go out of my way and buy this for you so you better eat every last drop!"

"I thought you said you just _happened_ to be near an udon shop," Tai smirked slyly.

Jun force-fed him the first mouthful of noodles rather vindictively. Her indignant blush was worth the choking though.

"Taichi-sempai! We're back!" Davis' voice rang out excitedly as the door was pushed open wide to reveal the entire group of Digidestined fresh from their trip around the world. "Merry Christm—AH!"

Tai wasn't sure who was more surprised. Him caught with a mouthful of noodles trailing out of his lips wrapped about the ends of the chopsticks that Jun was holding as she returned everyone's stare coolly and defiantly as if daring anyone to make a comment.

Or the rest of his friends who were gaping bug-eyed at the scene in front of them like they had just stepped into an episode from the Twilight Zone.

It would have continued like that for all eternity, Tai supposed, but Mimi happened to be the only one with sense enough to shut the door to give them privacy.

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF GOLEMON WAS _THAT?"_ he heard Davis scream from behind the closed door.

"Hush, we'll tell you when you're older," Mimi's voice drifted through followed by several amused giggles.

Tai swallowed the mouthful of noodles as his and Jun's eyes met.

"You'd think they'd be less surprised by now every time they see us together," Jun stated with an air of casualness.

"I know right?" Tai agreed. "Seriously."

oOo

Tai's Haiku Corner

_Tsukimi Udon_   
_Tastes good, but more so by the_   
_Person who feeds you._

_To Be Continued…_


	15. With You

"So, anyway, even without you there we still would have stood a sporting chance against the other team except then Asama got struck down with the flu and—"

"Then you were out of your best striker and goalie," Tai finished with a heavy sigh as lay under the covers of his bed with his back propped up against multiple pillows.

"Hey, don't go getting a swelled head!" Sano mock-warned him. "I turned out to be an okay striker. It's mostly Kitagawa's fault for letting all the other team's balls pass into the net! He needed more time training."

"So'd how Coach take our loss?"

"You'll never believe this," Sano sniggered stifling laughter in his throat as he remembered.

"Come on, what?" Tai urged his curiosity now piqued.

"You know, afterwards, where everyone bows to the other team for a game well-played and the coaches shake hands?" Sano said drawing out the tale as slow as possible.

"Yeah?"

"Well, Coach sucker-punched the other guy under the jaw, snatched the trophy out of the presenter's hands and tried to make a wild break for it across the field! He got tackled by all four refs before he'd gone even halfway. He was kicking and cussing up a storm—they had to sedate him and took him away in a strait jacket, hahaha!" Sano crowed, laughing so hard he started to hiccup.

"You're joking!" Tai exclaimed in amazement. The story sounded too incredible to be true. No, actually, knowing his coach, it sounded too incredible _not_ to be true.

"Hahaha—n-no, I'm not!" Sano managed to gasp out. "Call anyone, they'll tell you the same. Or better yet, read today's Sports section, here!" Digging into his backpack, the boy dug out a newspaper already carefully folded back to the correct page and thrust it into Tai's face.

 **Should We Be Concerned For The Morals Our Children Are Taught At Odaiba High? School Coach Goes Psycho!** the headlines boldly read.

Underneath was a picture of the soccer coach being restrained by four people in black and white striped uniforms and beside him was a medical personnel on his knees administering a thick syringe into the irate man's bulging neck-vein.

"I. Am. So. Framing. This. _Whoo, baby!"_ Tai whooped gleefully, the newspaper in his hands beginning to shake from his excitement. They said every cloud has a silver lining. Well, he had just discovered his from not being able to play for awhile.

"Go ahead and keep that one," Sano offered generously. "All the guys already have their copies. Just thought you'd like to be up-to-date."

"You're the best teammate _ever!"_ Tai exclaimed a wide grin plastered across his face.

Music filled the air as his cell phone went off. Picking it up, his heart skipped a beat as he saw the number.

"Ooh, three guesses who that is and the first two don't count," Sano ribbed teasingly at his friend's complexion that had flared red suddenly.

"Shut up!" Tai glared at him.

"I think I better take my leave now," Sano said rising up from his cross-legged position on the floor. "The saying 'bros before…' well, you know, is _so_ untrue."

"Just get out!" Tai snapped anxious to answer before the caller hung up. They were already on their fourth ring.

"I'm hurt, man, seriously," Sano sniffled, clutching at his chest as he pretended to stagger to the door. "I'm never talking to you again, you friend-shirker—"

Tai nailed him with a pillow to the head on his way out.

"Jun?" he said as soon as he was alone.

"What took you so long?" Jun asked, however he was heartened to hear there was only curiosity in her tone with no shred of anger at all.

"Ah, one of my teammates was here giving me the 411 on Coach's mental break-down at the Tokyo Soccer Stadium," Tai explained looking fondly at the picture again.

"Oh, I saw that in the newspaper too! Someone made copies and wallpapered the whole school with them!" Jun giggled.

"Sano forgot to mention _that_ ," Tai said imagining the scene. "I wonder, oh wonder who the culprit bold enough to do that could be?"

"Oi, oi, what's with that suspicious tone?" Jun questioned. "I only use photographs as blackmail when needed. What could I possibly gain from posting a picture already made public?"

"You're so right—it couldn't have been you. There's no profit in that action whatsoever."

"Glad we're beginning to understand each other," Jun said with what sounded like a trace of laughter in her voice.

A short silence stretched between them as the conversation lagged as both struggled to think of something else to say, but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence. In fact, Tai felt that he would be interested in anything Jun had to say, whether it be discussing the metamorphosis of caterpillars or the hydrologic cycle. He had no idea when listening to the sound of her voice had become his favorite past time rather than J-Rock, but he found he didn't mind the change at all.

"Hey," Jun finally spoke up. "I was wondering… if maybe I could come over later…"

"Oh, uh, actually, the Digidest—I mean, my friends are coming over later," Tai said stumbling over the words, trying to find the right way break the news lightly. Jun still got a little rankled whenever he used the term 'Digidestined' or 'Chosen Children', as if she was being shunned or purposefully excluded.

"I see," Jun said stiffly.

"I mean, I wouldn't mind if you came over!" Tai rushed to explain hurriedly. "It's just we're going to try and figure out who or what this unseen enemy is that we're up against exactly and planning our next move and—"

"And I'll only be in the way," Jun finished, the now-familiar sound of irritation creeping back into her tone.

"No! I just know you're not comfortable around them yet and I don't want them to upset you!" Tai cried before he could stop himself.

"Oh," Jun said and now she sounded surprised, embarrassed and… _pleased_ all at once and Tai was amazed he could read all that from one uttered syllable. "Oh, alright then. I'll call you later, then, okay?"

"Okay," Tai said staying on line intending to wait until he heard her hang up.

The _click_ never came.

"Are you still on?" Jun demanded.

"Yeah," Tai admitted smiling.

"Well, hang up!"

"Ladies first."

"You're so annoying!"

"Ditto."

"I'm really hanging up now!"

"Fine by me."

A few more seconds passed.

"Should I hum elevator music for you?"

"You wouldn't _dare!"_ Jun shrieked.

Tai's response was to promptly launch into an off-key serenade of The Llama Song.

"NOOOO, STOOOOP!" Jun wailed. _"You're so evil!"_

"I do a pretty good rendition of This Is The Song That Never Ends too," Tai confessed.

"Earbud-murderer!" Jun screeched into the receiver, but she still didn't hang up.

So he was unwittingly caught giving a special performance when his friends walked in unannounced. He only noticed them halfway through the seventh repeated verse when a snicker was badly stifled and he jerked his head around to spot the older Digidestined plus his sister standing grouped in the doorway, amused smirks plastered across their faces.

"Don't you guys know how to _knock?"_ he exclaimed embarrassed, breaking out of song and feeling his cheeks burn.

"Oh, are they there now?" Jun's voice drifted into his ear on the phone sounding resigned… and disappointed.

"Ah, yes, call you later, alright?" Tai said turning his face away quickly so the others wouldn't see his face ignite a deeper color.

"Alright," Jun said quietly.

Tai couldn't stop the swell of disappointment he felt himself when the phone's audible _click_ was heard and their connection cut off.

"'Sup, everyone?" he drawled as he snapped his cell phone shut and lay back against the pillows with what he hoped was an air of casualness.

"Wow, Tai, the Otamamon and Gekomon did tell me you about your singing, but I had no idea you sounded like _that!"_ Mimi tittered, hiding her smile behind her hand.

"Yeah, Tai has a great singing voice, doesn't he?" an orange blur cried as it flung itself forward and tackled him on the bed.

"Agumon!" Tai shouted happily as he hugged his partner that he hadn't seen in over two weeks. They had only been able to talk to each other via phone.

"Mmm," the small dinosaur nuzzled his snout into Tai's chest and breathed in his scent deeply. "You should ask Matt to let you sing one of the songs he stole from you. You deserve to get some credit after all!"

"What?" Matt asked, cocking a disbelieving eyebrow at the statement.

"Ahahahaha!" Tai laughed nervously, clapping his partner warningly on the back. "I really don't know what he's talking about. Digimon say the darnest things sometimes, don't they?"

"But Tai, you said—" Agumon started to protest confused.

"Hungry! I know you're hungry!" Tai interjected quickly. "Who else is hungry? I know I am! Kari, go get us some of Mom's delicious pickled beet soufflé!"

"Let the Digimon speak, Tai. I'd think we all like to hear what he has to say," Matt said crossing his arms appearing keenly interested.

"Oh, i-it's nothing, really," Agumon said catching on far too late. "I just think Tai has talent, that's all."

"Oh, he has talent, alright," Matt said dryly, but his expression looked more amused than anything else.

"Okay, okay, let's get down to business," Izzy spoke briskly taking the only chair available in the room, the one in front of the computer desk. The others made do with sitting on the floor. The rather, neat and spacious floor.

"Wow, Tai, your room is actually tidy for once," Sora said glancing about impressed.

"I'm setting a new trend for myself," Tai shrugged. "It's my New Year's Resolution."

"Mom cleans it," Kari supplied helpfully.

"Ratting out your own brother, how could you?" Tai scowled giving her a dirty look.

"Don't worry, I had a sneaking suspicion anyway," Sora chuckled.

"It's horrible!" Tai admitted frustrated. "Everything's so in order and perfect and I can't find anything! At least when it was messy I knew where things were!"

"You do realize what an oxymoron that is, right?" Izzy said.

"Hey, I was just making a point! There's no need to insult me!" Tai yelled.

It was when the others collapsed into a gigantic laughing fit that Tai made a mental memo to himself to brush up on his dictionary reading. When even Mimi got a word like that and not him, he knew it was time to study.

"So, where is everyone else?" he asked wondering where the younger members of the team were, hoping to change the subject.

"T.K. and Cody are in the Digital World right now looking for Arukeniemon and Mummymon, while Davis, Ken, and Yolei are searching for them here," Kari said. "They were the ones responsible for the Control Spires popping up all over the world and Ken says he's positive she has something more sinister up her sleeve. He thinks she set the whole thing up as one big diversion to distract us."

"A diversion…" Tai echoed. "From what?"

"From whatever she's really planning," Kari said. "He hasn't said it out loud, but I think he's worried about the one controlling her, the one Azulongmon told us was our true enemy. And… something else happened too…"

"T.K. said that Mom met a man who told her that 'what happened five years ago isn't over yet'," Matt shared, a small frown-line etching its way across his forehead at the disturbing piece of news. "Apparently, they had met before when Myotismon had taken over the city and by the questions she says he asked, it looks like he knew or at least suspected that the Hikarigaoka Incident was no mere bombing either."

Tai really didn't like the sound of all this. "Was he… human?" he asked tentatively.

"That's what T.K. asked Mom and she claims he was," Matt said, the frown-line not disappearing. Maybe Tai should warn him about his beauty complexion in danger of being marred.

"So does that mean whoever is behind the curtain can control humans too?" Tai wondered.

"If they can, that definitely does not bode well for us," Izzy declared. "However, I think we're missing the bigger picture here. What if the human, whoever he is, has aligned himself with the enemy out of his own free will? Worse, what if he isn't the only human? What if there are more out there taking sides against us?"

"But why?" Mimi cried after a few horrified moments of silence. "Why would any human do that? Aren't they usually too appalled and frightened of Digimon to even stick around once they see one?"

"No," Matt spoke up suddenly, his tone hard and laced with a tinge of regret. "No. Some humans are too curious for their own good. And some Digimon… can be very persuasive with their words…" The blond looked up, blue eyes clashing eyes with Tai's brown, before he looked away albeit ashamed and Tai knew he was remembering Cherrymon.

"I don't like saying this, but we may have to fight humans as well as Digimon in the future," Izzy stated grimly. "We might want to prepare ourselves for that day."

It was a dark and foreboding revelation and Tai wondered if everyone else's stomach besides his own was curdling at the thought… although, that could also be his mother's miso soup-in-a-bowl-nine-days-old that he had eaten for breakfast earlier.

"Tai," Agumon murmured. The small dinosaur was curled up against his side with his head in his lap and his limbs sprawled possessively over his partner much in resemblance of a hairless cat. "I understand why Digimon fight each other, but why would humans want to hurt their own kind? All the ones I know are really nice. Do some have a Virus in them too?"

"Yes, Agumon," Tai said, a lump growing in the back of his throat as he thought of the violent crimes broadcasted daily on tv. "Some humans have a Virus in them too."

There really wasn't much left for the Digidestined to discuss afterwards and with only thin speculation for them to go on, they had a difficult time coming up with any sort of plan at all. Their quest for ideas turning up fruitless and combined with the heat of the room made only hotter by the mass of bodies inside only soon created an undesirable, irritable atmosphere.

"Guys, guys, can we take this brain-storming fest outside, please?" Tai pleaded finally and received astonished stares his direction.

"Are you… allowed?" Joe asked.

"I'm not a complete invalid, I can walk!" Tai scowled sourly, flinging the covers off him and swinging his legs over the side of the bed.

His attempt to stand up was met with a surge of out-stretched hands that pushed him back onto the mattress along with a flurry of objections.

"Stop! Are you crazy?"

"You shouldn't be moving so abruptly—it's not healthy or safe!"

"Don't be so hot-headed you put your recovery at risk!"

"Guys, it's fine!" Tai shouted, swatting aside their restraining hands. "As long as I wear this brace-thingie, I'm supposed to increase my physical activity! I'm sure a walk around the block is not going to kill me!"

His skills of arguing were becoming very convincing of late going by how he had successfully managed to make everyone back away and eye him over thoughtfully. Maybe he should look into this politician role that Jun had suggested later on… just for fun, of course.

"The doctors said bed rest for three weeks," Kari pointed out. "It's only been two."

"Two and a half," Tai glowered at her.

His sister chewed her lip contemplatively while the others appeared to be teetering on the verge of giving in.

Tai sighed wearily, crossed his heart and raised his left hand. "I swear I won't go rushing off to the rescue if there's a building on fire, an outbreak of plague or any rogue Digimon trashing the city, alright?"

His pledge seemed to have mollified his friends whose faces broke out into smiles. Kari still looked worried, but she relented nevertheless. "Okay, Tai, I trust you," she said before turning to the others. "Just make sure we enclose him in a circle so he won't be tempted."

"Hey, my _back_ is hurt not my ears!" Tai yelled.

oOo

It was quite a refreshing experience to walk freely in the crisp, wintry air. The only exercise he had been getting lately was treading around the apartment from his room to the kitchen, living room or bathroom. He had even taken to counting the exact number he could pace back and forth in his bedroom. It was approximately fourteen paces from his bed to the window and eleven and a half from his closet to the door. He had never thought he would be so sick of seeing the walls of his own room. He had even turned his soccer posters around so he could doodle on the back of them just for a change of scenery. Everything was exciting for him from the gum stuck on the sidewalk to railing fenced around the trees. He would never take anything for granted ever again!

"Tai, are you _skipping?"_ Sora asked incredulously.

"No," Tai said a little too quickly stopping in place to plant both his feet firmly on the ground.

"Those were some great moves there, twinkletoes," Matt snickered.

"Just because my spine is fractured doesn't mean my fists have lost their ability to give you a knuckle-sandwich," Tai growled.

"You really shouldn't be jostling your spine up and down like that anyway," Joe frowned. "You could damage it further."

"Maybe we should head back now," Kari said appearing relieved. "We've already walked two blocks further than we agreed on."

"Well, the weather is turning out to be a little drab," Izzy put in glancing at the late afternoon sky where grey storm clouds had gathered ominously.

"We wouldn't want to get caught out in the rain," Mimi agreed. "It's not healthy. I mean," she continued hastily seeing Tai's annoyed expression. "Our spirits are already dampened—let's not do the same to our hair!"

"God, you guys are such a bunch of Nannymon!" Tai burst out pushing through them not about to let his outing be cut so short. The only way they were going to get him to go home this soon was if they dragged him back kicking and screaming. "I don't know what you're so worried about! I'm perfectly fine on my ow— _WHOA!"_

He found himself pitching face-forward without warning the pavement rushing up to greet him before he was snagged by a firm grip from behind two seconds before impact.

"Okay, I think I rest my and everyone else's case here," Joe said, his eyes narrowing in displeasure from behind his glasses.

"It wasn't my fault! It was his!" Tai protested pointing at the small boy whose baseball bat he had tripped over to the fact the kid had been using it to run along the bottom of the metal bars of the crosswalk-bridge they were currently stopped. "Hey, kid," Tai snapped at him. "Don't you know better than to play games up here? It's dangerous!"

The boy had the audacity enough to stick out his tongue cheekily at him and blow a raspberry before taking off down the stairwell.

"Get back here, you little brat!" Tai shouted starting to chase after him… however Joe was stronger than he had realized.

"Tai, don't make me use this," Joe said taking a folded white linen cloth out of his coat pocket and waving it threateningly under his friend's nose.

Tai reeled back from the overpowering, sickly sweet smell, his eyes watering. "D-Dude, is t-that _chloroform?_ Are you freaking kidding me?"

"I'm not joking," Joe warned him. "You may not be taking this whole spinal fracture recovery rate seriously, but the rest of us are. I don't want to use this, but… unfortunately, they still won't allow me access to needles at my internship," Joe finished sadly.

Tai gaped at him in disbelief, then from the highway of cars than ran below them came a chorus of screeching tires and honking horns.

"What is it?" Mimi cried rushing over to the railing for a better view.

"Is it the kid?" Sora asked hurrying beside her.

"No, I see him. He's over there!" Izzy said pointing to the left where the boy with the baseball bat stood on the sidewalk staring transfixed at something in the middle of the road.

Something that had caused a traffic jam in the left-hand lane. A lone figure standing still in the sea of cars that sped past since the person refused to budge. A person with familiar chestnut spiked hair…

Tai's blood ran cold at the sight chilling him to the bone more than the sudden onslaught of rain that poured down from the sky. He ripped out of Joe's grasp with energy he wasn't sure where it had come from and raced like a man possessed down the wet stairwell.

"Tai, stop! Not so fast! You'll slip!" he heard voices call from behind him but he plunged on ignoring their concerned cries.

His heart was pounding rapidly and his stomach felt like it had leaped into his throat. An invisible cord of panic tightened around his chest. There was a wild kind of terror streaking through his veins as he dashed headlong into the oncoming traffic without hesitation.

"JUN!" he yelled, the name tearing itself free from his mouth in a frantic, desperate tone.

Reaching her side, he grabbed the girl by the wrist with one hand and wrapped his other about her shoulder and steered them blindly through the speeding vehicles back to the safety of the sidewalk.

" _What in the world were you thinking?"_ he shouted at her the minute his lungs had begun to breathe normally again and now his fear was quickly cooling off and being replaced by anger.

Jun didn't appear to have heard him. She didn't even seem to be aware of his presence in front of her. Her brown eyes were staring straight through him as if he weren't there, vacant and glassy.

" _Answer me!"_ Tai ordered, shaking her roughly by the arms. "Do you have a death wish or something?"

A tiny gasp was the girl's only sign of response as she slowly drifted out of the numb spell she had fallen into. Violent trembles shook her frame and it was then that Tai realized she wasn't wearing a coat, only a thin, long-sleeved shirt over a short skirt that were now thoroughly drenched by the rain. But somehow, he doubted she was trembling from the wet and cold.

"Jun, you sounded fine earlier… what happened?" he asked softly.

The girl lifted her head up to reveal the hollows of her cheekbones on her pale face. Dark shadows ringed under her brown eyes brimming with unshed tears.

"I-I…" Jun managed to croak huskily, her voice barely above a whisper. "I ran… into this w-weird man earlier… he looked like someone dressed for a c-cosplay party," a weak giggle bubbled out of the girl's throat before she got herself under control. "He asked me if I was h-happy the w-way I am n-now. He s-said… he said he could m-make me s-superior… t-that all my w-wishes would be g-granted…"

A wave of uneasiness swept over Tai at the girl's story. He couldn't help but remember the conversation earlier.

" _T.K. said that Mom met a man who told her that 'what happened five years ago isn't over yet'."_

"I d-didn't k-know what he wanted f-from me," Jun choked out. "B-but I do know I w-wanted what he was offering… even if it did sound imp-possible…"

Jun may have given up on Matt, but Tai knew there were other things the girl desired desperately.

oOo

" _Promise me I can have a Digimon too."_

oOo

" _Tell me how I can get to this Digital World then so they can find me."_

oOo

" _Keep your precious monsters all to yourself! You think you're someone special because you have one? You think it makes you a better person? Well, you're not!_ _You're no different than the rest of us! None of you!"_

oOo

"I w-was going to ag-gree…" Jun stuttered, her words slurring together as if her tongue was made of lead. "I d-didn't care w-what the p-price was… but then… this _woman_ appeared… she l-looked like a Halloween w-witch…"

Tai's mind jolted in sudden recognition. Perhaps Jun hadn't run into this mystery human after all. Was she talking about Mummymon and Arukeniemon?

"She c-called the man an i-idiot… she s-said I was too o-old for it to spr-rout p-properly… then they l-left me…" Jun wheezed, her violent trembling grinding to an abrupt stop. "They left me…" she repeated piteously. Her eyes widening as she looked up at him, _through_ him into nothing. "They _left_ me… why?" she whispered in a myriad of chants. "Why, why, why, why, why, _why, WHY,"_ Jun screamed as her hands shot out and seized the front of his coat tightly. _"WHY AM I NEVER GOOD ENOUGH?"_

Tai stared at the girl clinging to him not bothering to mask her heaving sobs that were clawing their way out of her throat with an agonizing conviction.

Footsteps splattering on the wet pavement pulled his attention momentarily away. Glancing behind him, he saw that his friends had reached the bottom of the stairwell and were drawing nearer every second, puzzlement showing clearly upon their countenance.

Tai turned back to Jun whose face had regained some color, even if it was a splotchy red from crying so hard. The girl's gaze had become unfocused once again, her grip on his coat growing slack. He couldn't let them see her like this. Especially Matt. She may have not cared now if anyone saw her, but later, when she was in her right mind again, she would.

Gently, he took her hands in his and pried them off his coat where they fell limp at Jun's side. With one swift movement, Tai whipped off his coat and placed it over the girl's shoulders, tugging the hood down over her face so she was shielded from the rain… and any other unwelcome stares.

Jun didn't seem to have noticed a change in her attire nor the manner in which Tai placed his arms around her and drew her close to his side, carefully leading them away in the opposite direction of the Digidestined.

They didn't try to stop him from leaving this time.

Tai wouldn't have listened to them anyway if they had.

oOo

Tai's Haiku Corner

_Courage never knew what_   
_Fear could be until the day_   
_I almost lost you._

_To Be Continued…_


	16. Take My Hand

The rain lightened up but still continued to pour earthbound in continuous sheets of chilling, droplets of water. Tai plodded silently through it, keeping a firm grip on Jun, with no particular destination in mind.

 _We should get out of the rain,_ he mused distractedly casting a glance to the grey sky overhead. _Maybe a café or something._

But he didn't think Jun would appreciate being crammed into a tiny shop full of people and what taking her haggard appearance into account. In fact, the girl probably wouldn't even bother to worry about they would think. She seemed to have settled into a self-induced stupor at the moment going by the way she was allowing him to keep his arm around her shoulders and not launching into a tirade of how not to act so familiarly with someone he wasn't sure he could label as a "friend" even. She didn't appear to notice her surroundings at all much less the person beside her.

An entrance to a park caught his eye and Tai drew them towards it, a vague plan taking shape in his mind. The trees provided adequate enough canopy from the rain and the thick foliage kept out most of the biting wind and weather creating quite the shelter. Tai walked Jun to one of the benches and helped her sit down.

Jun was no longer crying.

This alarmed Tai more than when the girl had been weeping so despairingly before. At least she had been showing off _some_ emotion. Now, she seemed to have shrunk, curled into herself someplace far away from the harshness of reality.

Tai tried to think of something nice to say to ease her pain but drew a blank. There was nothing he could possibly think of that would make her feel better or change the simple facts of the situation.

Jun wasn't a Digidestined. She hadn't been chosen. She didn't have a digivice. She didn't have a partner.

She didn't have the guy she wanted either.

Tai wandered over to a vending machine and bought a can of coffee. Returning back, he took Jun's motionless hands and wrapped them around it firmly. She made no move to drink it but at least the heat from the can would warm her numb fingers at least.

"I saw them too," Jun spoke suddenly, breaking the silence that had fallen around them.

"What?" Tai said more startled by the girl talking than what she had meant.

"At the convention center… five years ago…" Jun said her voice quavering with every word as her fingers gripped the can of coffee so tightly the tips turned white. "I saw them too… the ghost monsters… that _vampire_ … I saw them too… just like Davis… so _why_ —" she choked at the end as if her throat had closed up and bowed her head, her shoulders renewing their trembling.

After their tour around the world, Izzy had shared with him how there were other Digidestined besides the original eight. Apparently, anyone who had seen or been in contact with Digimon who had slipped through the gateway to the Digital World five years ago had potential to becoming a Digidestined. Potential but it wasn't an absolute.

Jun always appeared to get the short end of the stick.

Perhaps that's why she tried to hard to reach the goals she had set for herself. Why she became so utterly crushed when she failed them.

In any case, there was something she had mentioned earlier that Tai found quite disturbing.

"Jun," he said slowly so as to not frighten her. "What did you mean when you said you were 'too old for it to sprout properly'?"

It sounded as if Mummymon and Arukeniemon were up to another one of their schemes and if they were, then Ken was right and the Control Spires popping up all around the world had been nothing more than a diversion to get the Digidestined to leave Japan so that they could set their plan into motion.

"I d-don't know," Jun sniffed, bringing one hand up to brush briefly across her eyes. "The man didn't g-give me anyt-thing. M-maybe he was p-pervert. M-maybe he was c-crazy. M-maybe I was crazy for b-believing him."

"You're not crazy, Jun."

"Y-yes, I am," Jun smiled lop-sided. "C-crazy, psychotic, and obsessive, that's m-me, remember?"

"Jun…"

"Oh, let me g-guess, y-you're g-going to s-say you _like_ that ab-bout me, r-right?" Jun laughed albeit hysterically, flinging her head backwards and causing the hood of Tai's coat to slip off and exposing her face flushed red by the tears streaking down her cheeks. "C-can't have the girl you r-really like, so let's settle for s-second best, huh? We can be t-two of a k-kind: a c-couple brought together by b-both of them being rej-jected by the people they l-love. They find s-solace and c-comfort in each others' arms and l-learn to truly c-care for one another and l-live happily ever after. S-sounds about r-right. Good enough to be a m-movie," Jun said with a strangled giggle. "Hey, maybe we'll co-write a b-book tog-gether about our tragic exp-periences and how we w-would go through them a m-million t-times if it meant m-meeting each other, _hahahahaha!"_

Tai stared at the girl in front of him who had fallen over sideways on the bench lost in the throes of her mad laughter, her entire body shaking.

"Stop it," he said, a dark anger coiling in the pit of his stomach at the sight.

"What?" Jun crowed triumphantly up at him seeing his expression. "C-can't handle the t-truth? 'C-cause it's what I just s-said."

"What you just said is utter bullshit," Tai swore vehemently, his anger rising every second that Jun smiled that horrible, false grin sweetly at him.

"Oooh," Jun gasped mockingly sitting upright again and leaned forward interestedly. "Are you going to contradict me now? _Do_ tell me how it's not true!" she exclaimed clapping her hands. "Tell me how perfect and wonderful I am and how much we complete each other! Tell me!"

"Not like this," Tai bit out, struggling to control the rage building inside him. "Not until you're back in your right mind."

"What right mind? This _is_ me," Jun tittered, batting her eyelashes coquettishly. "Crazy, psychotic, and obsessive, just they way you prefer."

Tai resisted the urge to slap her across the face, to try and snap her out of the insanity that had shrouded her senses. He turned sharply without a further word and began walking away. There was no use talking to her anymore right now. Maybe time alone would make the madness disintegrate. Let her think he was leaving. He would wait nearby out of sight and make sure she got home alright by herself. He just couldn't stand seeing her like this a moment more.

"Hey, where are you going?" he heard Jun call out from behind him. "You haven't confessed your undying love yet!"

Tai continued forward without as much as a backward glance.

"Hey!" Jun shouted again and this time there was less dementia and more anger in her tone than before. "You can't leave until I say so!"

He had just stepped under the light streaming from the lamppost when a coffee can went hurtling past his head colliding into the vending machine it had come out from. The tab on the can broke open spraying steaming dark-brown liquid into the air and all over the front of Tai's shirt soaking the vest he wore underneath. He spun around to see Jun standing not three feet away, her face devoid of its mask of craziness, contorted with a new and strange kind of fear instead.

"You can't leave," Jun repeated brokenly. "Everyone… _everyone always leaves!"_

The girl had balled her hands into small fists that were shaking by her side. Her chest was heaving wildly as if she had run a marathon. Her eyes were shining with sorrow and hopelessness, but free from the delirium she had been suffering before.

He sighed and walked back until he stood in front of her, a serious expression settling on his face.

"Do you want know what I like about you, Jun?" Tai said. "I like the fact that you're _not_ perfect and wonderful. I like how with you it's 'hit first, ask questions later'. I like how you can send people running at just your arrival. I like the way that if you laugh too hard you start to snort like a pig. I like the way that you remind me of a _kitsune_ becauseof all the clever tricks you pull, even though look more like a raccoon right now because your mascara's been running. I like the way your hair smells like almonds and how when I put on your helmet every time I ride your moped the scent sticks my own. I like how in art class when the teacher asks us to draw something, I want to sketch every expression I've ever seen you make. And I like going to sleep at night with the last thought on my mind being how I'll never know if I'm going to survive the next day because _you'll_ be in it ready to drag me through another one of your wild schemes but I don't care because I enjoy every minute of them!"

Jun was staring at him wide-eyed when he had finished, a faint blush having slowly crept into her cheeks as she had listened to his words. Then without warning, her expression crumpled inward and the floodgates in her brown irises burst open wide as withheld tears poured forth.

"I… look… like a _raccoon?"_ Jun cried, halfway between a strangled squeak and a wail.

"A cute raccoon!" Tai tried to amend hastily. Dammit, why did all his confessions have to go awry and miss their mark?

Jun sobbed louder than ever burying her face into her hands and rubbing the back of her palm against her eyes in an effort to wipe away the black mask that had formed. All she succeeded in doing was dying her hands black from the mascara rubbed off on the skin.

"Don't do that," Tai said gently, taking one of her smudged hands in his. "You'll just make yourself look like a panda instead."

Jun struck him feebly in the chest with her free hand. "You need to learn how to flirt better, you jerk. Telling someone they look like an animal isn't a compliment!"

Tai was heartened to hear laughter bubbling its way through her crying. Happy, normal laughter. "Sorry, I'm new at this," he grinned. "I guess someone will have to teach me."

Jun looked up and fixed him with a bewildered, searching gaze and Tai realized that he had taken hold of her other hand and now was holding both of them… and that their faces were in such a close proximity that it wouldn't take much effort for him to lean down and press his lips against hers…

"Wait," Jun rasped out as his head started to decline downward.

Tai paused and blinked as if a veil had been lifted from his eyes. What had he been about to do? He felt his face flame at the thought. Jun's hands were shaking slightly in his grasp as the girl gazed at him with an air of uncertainty.

"I'm not…" she said, stumbling over the words. "I'm not… just a rebound… or substitute that you can use."

"I know that," Tai said firmly. "I don't think of you like that at all."

The two stood in silence for a moment, Jun regarding him carefully.

"I understand though… if you don't feel the same way about me," Tai said starting to withdraw his hands. "If you still have feelings for—"

He was stopped in his tracks when Jun snatched at his retreating hands and curled hers back around his tightly. With a start, Tai noticed the burning, electrifying heat that usually ignited whenever he touched Jun had vanished. It its place was a warm, glowing sensation that tingled pleasantly as it danced across their fingers that had somehow gotten laced through each other's…

Then Jun was lifting her face upwards expectantly and Tai was tilting his head down and their lips were gliding softly together as they meshed in a tender kiss and the warmth raced from their fingertips and spread throughout the rest of their bodies until they were completely immersed in an overwhelming, indescribable feeling that lasted for far too short a time.

When they finally pulled apart, Tai was out of breath and felt as if his face was on fire. Judging by Jun's dark-red complexion as she stared at him in surprise and amazement, his face was probably a mirror-copy of hers.

"Was that your first kiss?" Jun asked.

"Y-yes," Tai reluctantly admitted. He hadn't thought his face could grow any hotter. This was rather awkward and embarrassing. "I'm sorry if I wasn't any g—"

His apology was abruptly cut off as Jun yanked him gently back down for another kiss, this one deeper than before.

Tai rather thought he could get addicted to this.

oOo

It was night by the time the rain finally let up and they left the park. Tai walked Jun back home holding hands the entirety of the way there in broad public.

"You could come in for a bit," Jun suggested almost shyly as they stood in front of the door to the Motomiya residence. "I could make tea."

The idea was tempting. But…

"I've got get back. My nursemaids are probably frantic by now. Look, seventeen missed calls," Tai said showing her his cell phone. He was glad he had the sense enough to turn it off earlier. He hadn't even looked at his D-Terminal yet.

Jun smiled and unwrapped herself from his coat, handing it back to him. "You'll need this then. I wouldn't want you to catch a cold."

Tai took it from her and put it on. It was still warm from the heat of her body. "I'll call you in the morning," he said. "We could get together later tomorrow."

"I thought we already were together," Jun teased, laughing when his face flushed a crimson shade.

_Together._

Tai's head spun dizzily. He wondered how once word could make him feel so incredibly happy. This must be the feeling sung about in those sappy love songs he used to despise. This strange sensation of walking on air and hoping feverishly that this wasn't a dream because if it was, he never wanted to wake up from it.

A weight was pushed onto his wrist suddenly and Tai broke out of his daze to look down and see Jun finish hooking the metal clasp of a charm bracelet that used to grace her own wrist.

"Well, I don't have a gift ready to give you right now," the girl said, her mouth pressing into a thin line as she avoided his gaze. "And I totally understand if you don't want to wear something so stupid—"

Tai silenced her taking off the blue headband he used to hold up his hair and wrapping it around Jun's wrist in return.

"This will make it twice I've given something of mine to the Motomiyas," he chuckled. "What can I say? I have must have a real weak soft spot for them."

"Yeah, but I kiss better than Davis, right?" Jun smirked.

"Loads," Tai grinned at her.

Their faces inched forward closer ever-so slowly and then…

They were interrupted by a next-door neighbor arriving home from work late and decided kissing in plain view wouldn't be the best idea in the world.

"Good night," Jun said unlocking the door and stepping into her apartment.

"Good night," Tai whispered, his eyes lingering on her and not leaving from the threshold until the girl had shut the door.

He glanced down at the charm bracelet on his left wrist and decided it was better than any sports wristband he had ever worn for good luck.

oOo

Tai arrived home, his mind still enraptured in a pleasant cloud and dimly heard his sister's voice coming as if from a long tunnel.

"Oh, hold on, nevermind, he just got back. I'll call you later." There was a click of the phone's receiver and then Kari's worried tone. "Tai, are you alright? You didn't hurt your back again, did you? Where were you for so long?"

Tai didn't bother even taking off his shoes at the entrance and brushed past her without so much as an explanation, heading straight for his room. "Tell Mom I'm sorry for missing dinner and I'm going to bed," he said shutting his door firmly behind him.

Casting off his shoes and his coat on the floor, he stretched out across the bed and stared absently up at the ceiling. Then he reached one hand over the side of the mattress and picked his coat up from where he had flung it. Burying his nose in the hood, he closed his eyes, inhaled deeply and smiled.

It smelled like almonds.

oOo

Tai's Haiku Corner

_Melting in fire_  
_Swept away by a river_  
_Your lips against mine._

_To Be Continued…_


	17. Poisoned Bond

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congrats if you made it this far. Did you all enjoy the fluff and humor and romance throughout the story? 
> 
> That's great. Store those happy memories away fondly. Sh*t is gonna hit the fan for the rest of the fic. This is where the plot and canon divergence rears its head and Tai has a perpetually bad case of Murphy's Law.
> 
> Tai ain't gonna get no rest until this fic is complete.

It was a heavy weight sprawled across his chest making it slightly uncomfortable for him to breathe that awakened Tai the next morning. Blearily, he lowered his gaze and was greeted with the sight of a small, orange dinosaur lying halfway on top of him as if to make sure his partner would not disappear again.

A wave of guilt rushed over Tai. He had essentially ran off and deserted everyone yesterday. Agumon had been left at home while he "walked around the block for a bit". He hadn't returned until hours later after dark. Kari had sounded worried when he arrived home. No doubt they all had been. A small swell of irritation rippled through the pool of guilt at the thought. He should have called and let them know he was alright, but really, he deserved more credit than they were giving him. They should trust that he could take of himself and not assume he was going to injure himself any further at every passing opportunity.

A drowsy grunt tumbled from his partner's throat and Tai reached out a hand to rub the Digimon's scalp soothingly.

Jun's bracelet made a soft _ching-_ ing sound as the music note and dice charms bumped into each other with the momentum.

Agumon's eyes snapped open at his touch, the green of his eyes blazing fiercely as he looked at him in manner that Tai wasn't sure he had ever seen or recognized before.

"Agumon…?" he asked easing up a little.

A snout was shoved firmly into his chest pushing back into his pillows. Reptilian nostrils flared wide and blew gusty, hot steam into the air as a frown-line crinkled across the dinosaur's brow.

"You smell… like _her_ ," Agumon murmured stiffly.

Heat flared in Tai's face as he realized Jun's scent of almonds still lingered on him from the night before.

"Oh, haha, t-t-that's—" he tried to laugh off nervously.

Teeth flashed white as lips curled back into a grimace, a discontented sneer. It suddenly occurred to Tai what a very sharp set of jaws his partner possessed. A trickle of unease shot throughout Tai's veins. He didn't like this feeling—this feeling of fear that his own partner posed a threat to him.

"She won't take you from me," Agumon said in a voice quite unlike his own, a low, grating tone that bordered on malice. "I won't let her. I promise."

Tai could hear the blood marching loudly in his ears in the deafening silence that followed his partner's proclamation. His heart beat erratically in his chest as he stared into narrowed, purposeful green eyes glinting with a smoldering, possessive jealousy.

This… this wasn't Agumon. It _couldn't_ be Agumon.

The world seemed to stop spinning. There was nothing but the two of them caught frozen in this fragile, crystalline-spun plane of existence and only one wrong move would cause it to snap…

"Tai, come quick! You have to see the news!" Kari exclaimed flinging his bedroom door wide.

oOo

"It seems that Ken may be right after all about Arukeniemon and Mummymon if these Digimon appearing all over the city are anything to go by, however, I have to wonder why no Control Spires appeared anywhere this time," Izzy was speaking, his voice floating out of the phone sounding both baffled and worried. "And we can't be entirely certain that they're behind the disappearance of so many children either."

Tai listened numbly and said nothing, his brain barely registering what Izzy was saying. All he could focus on was Agumon who was staring intently at the tv which was repeating its news bulletin from earlier about the sudden disappearance of children and reappearance of more monsters like those that had been seen at Christmas.

Agumon, who he had all but shoved violently off of him when his sister had opened the door. Agumon, who didn't seem to remember a thing about what he had said earlier when Tai had demanded what he meant by that. Agumon, who was under the impression the reason his partner was acting so absurd was because he had woken up from a nightmare.

Maybe he was halfway right. But Tai hadn't woken up _from_ a nightmare. He had woken up _to_ a nightmare.

"Listen, we have to take care of the Digimon first before we start looking for the children," Izzy said. "T.K., Cody, and Joe are going to deal with MarineDevimon. Tell Kari to meet up with Yolei and bring down LadyDevimon. Sora and Mimi will help them—they're already on their way there. You, Matt and I will join up with Davis and Ken. I'm sure between the five of us we can manage SkullSatamon. Hey…hey, are you listening, Tai?"

"What?" Tai tried to rein in his thoughts in and concentrate solely on Izzy's voice. It was more difficult to do than he imagined. Especially since Agumon had come over to stand in front of him to better hear the conversation—Tai fought against the impulse to step back. Agumon was his _partner._ He felt ashamed for even _thinking_ that the Digimon meant him harm. However, the memory of earlier that morning had planted a tiny, niggling seed of doubt in his mind.

"Maybe you should stay home and catch up on some rest instead." A worried note had slipped into Izzy's tone. "You probably over-exerted your energy yesterday running off like that and staying out for hours in the rain." Now there was disapproval mingling in as well.

"No, I told you, I'm _fine_."

"You just seem… distracted. Are you sure there's nothing wrong?"

Tai opened his mouth, everything ready on the tip of his tongue to come spilling forth…

He caught Agumon's eye as he did, the small dinosaur's mouth breaking out into a wide, toothy grin completely devoid of any ill intentions, filled only with warmth and love.

"No, nothing," Tai said wishing he felt as confident as he sounded. "There's nothing wrong at all."

oOo

"I'm telling you guys, I think Jun's gone crazy! I mean, she's always been crazy, but now she's gone all like _yandere_ crazy! She was smiling at breakfast! Smiling! And she made me pancakes! And she _hugged_ me good morning and told me what a wonderful little brother I was and you know what? She wasn't even being sarcastic!"

"I don't mean to be a downer, Davis, but… is that supposed to a bad thing?" Ken asked.

"She's completely snapped! It's freaking me out!" Davis exclaimed, holding his arms and shivering. "I don't get it! She was mean and rude as usual yesterday. What the heck happened between now and today? Alien abduction and pod-people replacement theories aside."

Tai was aware of Matt and Izzy shooting him inquisitive glances though neither of them said anything. They knew it had been Jun he had left with the evening before, but they didn't know the details. They were bound to be curious. Let them wonder. He wasn't going to divulge information on the matter any time soon. And besides… he wasn't sure that bringing up the subject of Jun and him being a couple in front of Agumon would be a good idea.

A violent explosion accompanied by sinister laughter sounded from around the corner followed by an outbreak of shrill, terrified screaming.

"I think we can discuss Jun's eccentricities at a more prone opportunity," Izzy said.

The broke into a dash rounding the building and were greeted with the sight of a Digimon whose body appeared to be made up of nothing but a skeleton, its bone structure a rusty red color except for its obsidian skull and leathery black wings sprouting from the back of its shoulder-blades. In its metal-gloved hands, it gripped a curved, clawed staff with a golden jewel embedded at one end, which was glowing ominously as the Digimon pointed it at the backs of the fleeing crowd of people.

"Not so fast!" Paildramon cried as he launched himself at the enemy, the spikes on his wrist extending into a lance in a Stinging Strike.

The skeletal Digimon emitted a diabolical cackle as it disappeared in a blur then reappeared directly behind Paildramon and dealt a wicked blow to his head with its staff that sent Paildramon smashing painfully into the concrete.

"Hey, using moves like that should get you disqualified on the field!" Davis shouted enraged.

"I hope you do realize this isn't a soccer match," Ken remarked.

"Which is a good thing otherwise this move would totally be illegal, right?" Kabuterimon yelled as he, Garurumon and Greymon attacked the opponent simultaneously in a formation of three.

Their enemy was nothing but a flashing streak of red as it laid their Digimon flat on their back with stunning blows under the chin.

"Pitiful! You are no match for SkullSatamon! I will crush whoever gets in my way!" the skeletal Digimon crowed evilly.

"Egocentric much?" Matt stated dryly.

"I think it's time to upgrade," Izzy nodded.

An excited thrill of anticipation shot through Tai. He had been told that while he was in the hospital a younger version of Gennai had arrived and had gifted the Digidestined with a Digicore from Azulongmon that enabled the older kids' Digimon to digivolve to Ultimate again. Everyone had witnessed their partners' higher form when they had traveled around the world. Everyone but him. But now he would finally be able to see MetalGreymon after so long a time.

Wait a moment. Should Greymon even being digivolving in his state?

Tai couldn't just forget about what had happened this morning. Agumon… wasn't well. The Agumon he knew would never have implied a threat like that. A threat he wasn't sure extended to him or to Jun or perhaps both of them.

He recalled a conversation with Izzy when he first got out of the hospital. Izzy had asked a question which had struck him as odd then.

" _So you and Agumon have been keeping in steady touch with each other?"_

" _Yeah, over the phone at least. Why?"_

" _Has Agumon been acting… abnormally?"_

" _Abnormal? What do you mean?"_

" _You know… um, has he… not been himself or not sounded like himself?"_

" _Izzy, he's still kicking himself for not saving me from DarkTyrannomon any earlier. You'll have to excuse him if he's not as happy-go-lucky as usual. What's this all about?"_

" _O-of course, you're right. Never mind. It's probably nothing."_

Izzy knew something he didn't. Or at least suspected something. He was being left in the dark on purpose.

Tai didn't like being excluded.

"Paildramon digivolve to _… Imperialdramon!"_

"Yeah, go knock those eighties-reject rocker pants right off that pile of walking bones!" Davis cheered his partner on enthusiastically.

"We have a verdict," Ken joined in, having apparently caught the taunting bug. "You're ugly!"

SkullSatamon seemed impressed. At least he paused his near-invisible strides for one second to do a good glance-over at his adversary's new form. "A mega Digimon? Hmm-hmm! NAIL BONE!"

A blinding beam of golden light erupted from the jewel on SkullSatamon's staff with sizzling force that rendered Imperialdramon immobile beneath a heavy veil of black mist that faded in and out sporadically.

"Unfair, unfair, unfair!" Davis howled doing a little dance of fury. "I'm _so_ giving you a red card!"

" _Not_ a soccer game," Ken muttered under his breath. "Move Imperialdramon!"

"He can't. That attack has some sort of energy that disrupts data and freezes its victim in place," Izzy said doing a quick search on his trusty laptop with the Digimon Analyzer.

"You hear that?" Matt shouted at Garurumon as his digivice glowed a familiar blue color that Tai hadn't seen in years. "Be careful! Try not and get by hit by it!"

"That's easer said than done," the newly evolved WereGarurumon grunted as he tried to outrun SkullSatamon. The wolf Digimon was fast—he could bounce off buildings and leap upwards just as high, but it still wasn't enough.

"NAIL BONE!"

WereGarurumon was slammed through the front windshield of an abandoned car in the middle of the street, his limbs locking up as the attack's special move wreaked havoc on his data.

"My turn!" MegaKabuterimon cried as he fired off a stream of lightning from his horn. "Horn Blaster!"

"Not even close," SkullSatamon sniggered as dodged the blast and it struck the top of the building he had been perched on sending slabs of concrete spiraling downwards.

"Hey, where'd he—?" MegaKabuterimon started, swiveling his head for any sign of the enemy.

"Too slow," SkullSatamon hissed as he slid into focus behind the insectoid Digimon. "NAIL BONE!"

The force of the attack flung MegaKabuterimon forward directly underneath the path of the falling concrete, burying the Digimon under an avalanche of debris.

"Now's my chance!" Greymon roared charging at the foe.

Tai watched as if in slow motion.

oOo

" _Has Agumon been acting… abnormally?"_

oOo

" _She won't take you from me. I won't let her. I promise."_

oOo

_Narrowed, purposeful green eyes glinting with a smoldering, possessive jealousy._

oOo

_Teeth flashing white as lips curled back into a discontented sneer… inches away from his exposed neck._

oOo

 _A malevolent whisper in his ear._ _"So fragile. So weak. You humans are pathetic."_

oOo

What? Tai seized up at the recollection that seemed to have sprung out of nowhere. Wait, those last two incidents hadn't happened… had they?

His mind felt heavy and numb, like someone had drilled holes through it like swiss cheese and memories had leaked out and vanished.

He looked up through the sea of fog that was swamping his senses and saw Greymon charging forward, a kind of wild, savage joy emblazoned across his face.

Terror rushed up from the pits of Tai's stomach, seized him by the throat and shook him like a rag doll.

"Greymon digivolve to— _what?"_ Greymon roared as his digivolution process failed to come to surface, astonishment overriding the senseless bloodlust that had consumed him enough to halt him in his tracks.

"NAIL BONE!" SkullSatamon cried, hammering down his attack upon the T-Rex's horned-helmet that ploughed him into the ground, the impact shooting a shower of gravel into the air like a geyser.

"Huh? What happened?" Davis questioned turning to see the digivice clenched in a death grip in his sempai's shaking hand, the digivice that was refusing to glow.

"Could it be because Tai wasn't in the room when Gennai gave us the power of the Digicore?" Matt voiced out loud.

"Impossible. Gennai assured me everyone received the energy. It must be another factor that's affecting the equation," Izzy disputed glancing at his friend in consternation. "Tai?"

Tai was partially relieved and horrified at the same time. He didn't know what would have happened if Greymon had digivolved, but it couldn't have been good if he had. For all he knew, SkullGreymon might have even appeared. A violent shudder shook him from head to toe at the thought. No, no, it was better this way.

" _Tai…"_ a low moan issued forth from Greymon's mouth as the dinosaur struggled under the crushing weight of Nail Bone's disrupting data influence. _"Whyyyyyy?"_

It was the same tone from this morning. Low, grating… bordering on malice. Didn't anyone hear it? Didn't anyone else see the dinosaur's crimson eyes glaring accusingly at him?

This time Tai gave himself no qualms for taking a step backwards from his fallen partner.

It was a move that spoke volumes.

Greymon's eyes widened into slits as he stared in shocked disbelief at him. Then the T-Rex began thrashing about wildly, a tortured roaring bellowed out of his open jaws, the betrayal in it loud enough for all to hear.

"What is _wrong_ with you?" Matt demanded, grabbing a fistful of Tai's shirt. "He's your _partner!"_

A piercing bird-cry split the air drawing everyone's to the source of the sound. To their left, a brigade of flying Digimon bore towards them on swift wings, Garudamon holding the female Digidestined in her claws as Lilymon, Angewomon and Aquilamon flew alongside her.

The earth shook under the stomping of Ankylomon and Zudomon's feet as they raced towards the group from the right, Angemon flying overhead.

"We're coming!" Cody shouted from his seat behind Ankylomon's shoulders, Joe and T.K. gripping the horn that jutted out of the middle of Digimon's back.

"Don't worry, the girls are here to save the day!" Yolei shrieked waving energetically from Garudamon's claws.

"Be careful, this one isn't like other Digimon!" Ken called out.

"Don't just rush in! You don't know what he's capable of!" Izzy tried to warn them but it was too late.

"NAIL BONE! NAIL BONE! _NAIL BONE!"_

If Tai had been paying even the most remote attention, he would have probably been amazed at how rapidly SkullSatamon disposed of his new adversaries. He would have heard the girls' frightened screams as Garudamon had to dump her precious cargo in order to avoid them from getting hit by the skeleton Digimon's attack that sapped her energy until she de-digivolved into Biyomon.

Ankylon and Zudomon went sailing across his line of vision both blasted by a now all-too familiar golden light.

The air was soon flooded with explosions, screams, and attack cries. The intersection where everyone had gathered had transformed into a private war-zone.

And Tai could see nothing before him except Greymon who had ceased his mad thrashing and pained roaring and had gone alarmingly still as if he had lost the will to keep on fighting.

Matt still had a firm grasp on his shirt. "Dammit, Tai, I don't know what's wrong, but this is no time to be having some teenage drama or crisis! Where's the guy who told me 'hopelessness is not one of our strong points'? That 'suicidally inclined' was a good term to describe how we never backed down from our enemies no matter how beat up we got? _That's_ the guy who needs to be here now! That's the guy who wouldn't let his own partner down!"

Tai stared at him unblinking, his friends' words appearing to have hit a brick wall.

Matt gave a disgusted snort and shoved him away, racing over to Gabumon whose Ultimate form had been ripped from him when SkullSatamon's Nail Bone attack had dispersed.

Greymon gave a strangled growl as heavy weight of black disruptive energy holding him down at last relinquished its grip on him. And with a flash of orange light, it was Agumon lying in his place unmoving.

 _This has happened before,_ was the thought that came to Tai's mind suddenly.

Back when Agumon had been under the influence of the Dark Spiral. His own partner had attacked him numerous times, and yet he hadn't backed away even then. He even recalled Davis trying to hold him back from the fire line.

 _I knew he was being controlled. I knew what I was up against then,_ Tai tried to convince himself.

That was no excuse. You didn't desert people you cared about simply because you didn't understand or were scared.

oOo

_"You won't lose me, Tai. I'll be here whenever you need me."_

_"Even when I'm old and grey?"_

_"Always and forever."_

oOo

So he knew something was wrong with Agumon. Help him, don't abandon him. What was he doing? What was he _doing?_

The cold chains binding him in place with fear snapped and shattered as he rushed to his partner's side.

"Agumon!" he cried throwing himself down beside the small dinosaur and picking his battered and bruised body up in his arms.

"T-Tai," Agumon whispered, green eyes crackling open slightly. "Am I dying?"

"What do you mean?" Now a different fear was overwhelming Tai at the Digimon's question.

"I don't know what dying feels like, but it must be what I'm feeling now," Agumon said, his body quivering all over. "You d-don't … _want_ me anymore."

"That's not true!" Tai exclaimed appalled at the idea. This was all his fault for not acting sooner. He should have told Izzy about what had happened this morning. He shouldn't have let fear guide him like a mindless puppet.

"I'm sorry… I'm not s-strong anymore, Tai," Agumon gasped as a rainbow-colored radiance seeped out of his skin.

For one heart-stopping moment, he thought Agumon was being deleted… until he watched the glittering colors merge into an arrow that sped through the air followed by several others of the same radiance by the rest of the Digidestined's Digimon all with the same mark in mind: the frozen Imperialdramon.

The mega Digimon's eyes glowed red as a new digivolution path was unlocked inside him.

"It's… all I can do," Agumon said as sagged weakly in Tai's arms. "I can't even protect you anymore."

oOo

" _I've become completely useless!"_

oOo

" _I don't want to live without you."_

oOo

A faint glimmer of understanding filtered its way through Tai's mind. It may have not solved the whole puzzle, but it was a key piece in figuring it out.

"Agumon, listen to me!" Tai cried clutching him tightly, pressing his face to the crook between the small dinosaur's neck and shoulders. "I don't know where humans go when they die! I don't know when _I'm_ going to die, alright? But I _do_ know you'll be with me until the end. Because you're my partner! Because you're my friend! Because I love you! Because I'll always love you no matter what happens to either of us!"

Beneath him, Agumon had gone silent and still.

"Agum—?"

"I don't… feel very good, Tai," was the oddly subdued response he received before Agumon lurched violently, his entire body convulsing into spasms as a loud, gurgling sound bubbled up from his belly, to his throat, then exploded from his mouth in the shape of what resembled writhing, oozing black tar.

Tai stared at the dark mass that was wriggling like an upturned roly-poly on the pavement before him no bigger than a small rain puddle.

Was that what had been making Agumon act strange? What in the world was it?

"GET AWAY FROM THAT!" He heard Ken shout with horrified, panicked urgency.

The writhing black mass curled outward in a vicious arc towards its two closest targets in the manner that a parasite seeks out its host to survive.

Tai felt something wrap around his legs, coil up around his waist, binding his arms that held Agumon to him close to his chest. It happened so suddenly he didn't even have time to struggle and then they were being pulled backwards, the world flashing past at a speed so dizzying Tai had to shut his eyes.

" _Positron Laser!"_ Imperialdramon's voice rang out.

Even through his closed eyelids, the brilliance of the attack flared a searing white.

"Someone better catch theeem!" an exhausted, raspy voice cried out.

Tai crashed into what felt like a pile of bodies that softened his impact. Dazed, he opened his eyes to find himself spread out over Matt and Joe, his arms holding Agumon to his chest, and staring up at a blue sky that a towering dragon-type mecha with crimson wings was silhouetted against.

He was vaguely aware of a clamor of voices asking if he was alright, of being pushed upright and Joe gently applying pressure points to his spine in a swift check-up, of the green vines disentangling themselves from around his and Agumon's bodies and retreating back into Palmon's outstretched hands.

There was a gaping crater where he and Agumon had been scant seconds before. The writhing black mass was nowhere in sight.

Neither was SkullSatamon.

"Did it touch you?" Ken demanded as he sprinted over, pushing the others aside.

"N-no," Tai stuttered as he tried to regain control of his tongue.

"Are you sure?" Ken pressed his complexion having turned a pasty white.

"I t-think so."

"It's cool, Ken. Imperialdramon nailed that black goo just like SkullSatamon, right?" Davis said coming up behind his friend, giving a thumbs up to the dragon-type mecha in the background.

Imperialdramon in his brand new form gave a salute back to the boy with one claw before de-digivolving and separating back into Wormmon and Veemon.

"What… was _that?"_ Tai asked, his mind still reeling in shock. "Why was it in Agumon?"

He glanced down at his partner slumped over limply in his arms. He wasn't sure if the Digimon was unconscious or resting, but he took comfort in the small movement of the dinosaur's chest rising and falling in succession as he breathed.

Above his head, the other Digidestined were talking, flinging theories around, saying things that didn't make sense _whatsoever._

"It was the Virus that was inside DarkTyrannomon, wasn't it?" Izzy's voice.

"Didn't Agumon destroy it?" Kari.

"I only said that he could _fight_ the Virus more easily, not destroy it. Usually, if the Virus is overcome, it remains in the host harmless." Gatomon.

"I see. Sort of like how humans are immunized against diseases like giving them a tiny part of it like the flu vaccine." Izzy again.

"Sometimes though, negative emotion triggers the Virus into another attempt to take over." Gatomon.

"It probably wasn't a good choice to keep him physically apart from Tai for so long." Joe.

"What are you guys talking about?" Tai asked in an all-too calm voice that reflected the complete opposite of what he was feeling at the moment.

There was an awkward silence for a few seconds before Izzy spoke up hesitantly.

"That night at Matt's concert… after you lost consciousness… there was a side effect from Agumon fighting DarkTyrannomon…"

Tai took in the whole story with tact reserve. He couldn't suppress the tremors of anger at the end though.

"You should have told me," he said thickly, finding it hard to swallow suddenly. "I had the right to know."

In his arms, Agumon stirred sluggishly. "…sorry… Tai," he murmured. "I said… horrible things…"

"No, that wasn't you. And what I did was worse," Tai remarked, his grip on his partner tightening in remembrance. "I'm sorry… for failing you like that. I'll never do it again."

"Listen…" Izzy said tentatively breaking the spell. "I know it's a bad time to mention this right now, but the reason us older kids' Digimon de-digivolved wasn't entirely from SkullSatamon's Nail Bone attack. They've been in the real world too long. They need to go back or…"

"Or what?" Tai asked when Izzy didn't continue. "Go on and say it. Or else they'll become unstable and neurotic like Agumon, is that it?"

"Tai!" Kari gasped.

"I'm only saying what everyone is thinking: that DarkTyrannomon's Virus only sped up the process, am I right?"

"No one is thinking that, Tai!" Izzy snapped. "It's just the simple fact of the matter: they need to return to the Digital World to regain their energy."

"I won't go," Agumon stated, refusing point-blank.

"Agumon," Tai trailed off, not sure what he was about to say.

"No, no, no, no, no, no!" Agumon chanted throwing a Digimon tantrum and shaking his head in vehement denial.

"It'll only be for a few days," Izzy tried to appease him.

"No, I won't go!" Agumon repeated, his voice cracking in distress. "The gateway will lock shut and it'll be years before I see Tai again or he might even be gone by the time it re-opens!"

"You don't know if that's for sure—"

But there was no arguing with the small dinosaur.

" _You can't make me!"_ Agumon snarled so ferociously that Izzy stumbled backwards from him in alarm.

Tai realized the truth in Izzy's words when a familiar orange-gold light enveloped the dinosaur and left a bedraggled-looking pink head in his stead.

Koromon began to cry—a miserable and unceasing wail that couldn't be reasoned with.

"Don't send me away, Tai," he sobbed, fat teardrops leaking out of his eyes and dripping down his long, dangling ears. "Don't leave me again."

Tai looked up at Izzy helplessly, not knowing what to do.

"Really," Izzy said, straightening his turtleneck collar. "There's no need for such melodrama. Look, if Tai goes back with you, would you please reconsider?"

"But what if the gateway really does lock shut again?" Kari asked.

Great. Now his sister was worried.

"Look, Gennai said nothing about the gate closing abruptly, so I highly doubt that. Plus, it didn't lock permanently last time until we had defeated the Dark Masters. We still have Arukeniemon, Mummymon as well as these new Digimon that have appeared to take care of. I think we're in the clear for a while."

"How long would it be?" Tai asked quietly.

Koromon's sobs trickled into a muffled hiccupping at his question.

"Just for the weekend at the shortest, that's all," Izzy swore.

"Tai shouldn't be going there while his back is still healing," Joe frowned, ever the doctor. "Not alone at least. I'd go with him, but I have cram school that I can't afford to miss."

"Wait, he's going a whole weekend in the Digital World without homework?" Yolei seemed aghast at the thought.

"Lucky," Davis stated enviously.

"It can't be helped then. I'll go with him," Izzy volunteered, lifting the top of his laptop up.

"What? Right now?" Tai asked. Everything was happening too fast.

"Just the other Digimon for now," Izzy said. "We'll head over to my place for supplies first."

Koromon latched his ears around Tai's neck and clung tightly to him as Gabumon, Biyomon, Tentomon, Gomamon and Palmon vanished into the screen as if he were to let go, he'd be sucked in as well.

Tai placed a hand on top of the shivering Digimon in an effort to console him, Jun's bracelet jingling as the sun glinted off the silver charms.

He watched as Davis' eyes grew impossibly round as he stared in recognition at the bracelet hanging off his sempai's wrist. He could practically hear the gears in the boy's head whirring as they made the connection between his wearing of such a girlish accessory and Jun's behavior that morning Davis had spoken of earlier.

"Well, that's that," Izzy was saying as he packed up his computer. "We'd better get a move on before it gets late since the real world and Digital World share the same time."

"One of our Digimon could fly you home," Kari offered still looking concerned.

"That's a negative," Izzy declined. "They'll need to save their energy for future battles. I take it neither of your groups defeated their opponent since they arrived here so quick?"

There was a sheepish collection of shaking heads.

"I hate that LadyDevimon!" Mimi burst out turning pink in the face with unbridled fury. "She's such an ugly witch!"

"What happened?" Joe asked curiously.

Mimi's response was to scream and stomp her foot on the ground repeatedly as if she were imaging it were LadyDevimon's face.

"LadyDevimon seems to like insulting her opponents more than fighting them," Sora whispered to him from behind her hand. "She called Lilymon a 'fat-assed sugarplum fairy' and Mimi an 'undercooked Strawberry Shortcake'."

Jun's favorite nickname for Mimi fell upon Tai's ears so familiarly, he almost looked around for her. He tried to choke down the mad laughter that threatened to flow from his throat until he was doubled over wheezing for air. It was too funny and ironic—too bad they others weren't in on the joke.

"I think it'd be best if we leave right now," Izzy said casting an apprehensive eye on him.

"Yeah, that might be a good idea," Joe agreed. "You could catch the monorail—it's closer than the subway from here."

Great. Now they all thought he was going psycho as well.

"Davis," Tai said hoarsely as everyone was departing, catching the boy as he was turning to leave so it was just the two of them alone for the moment. "Take care of your sister. And tell her… tell her I'll be back. I promise."

Davis fidgeted where he stood, his face flaming an uncharacteristic pink as he avoided his sempai's eyes.

"Davis."

"Alright, I'll tell her!" Davis shouted. "Geez, sempai, what were you thinking? You could do so much better!" the boy whirled fast on his heel and raced off, the pink in his cheeks having all but turned to red.

"That's where you're wrong," Tai whispered gazing down at Koromon in his arms who was dozing fitfully using his chest as a pillow. "I think she could do better than _me."_

Because he was certain if given the opportunity, Jun would never have treated her own partner like he had this day.

oOo

Tai's Haiku Corner

_Falling prey to fear_  
_Backing out when you need me_  
_Unforgivable._

_To Be Continued…_


	18. First Encounter

Grey.

It was the first thing Tai saw when he passed through the gateway. A mixture of black and white that reflected the sun so brightly he had to squint his eyes against the glare of its sharpness.

Dead earth.

Dry-crusted, empty water-beds.

Bleak, overcast sky.

The entire Digital World lay shrouded under the spell of sickness the grim color cast upon it.

From behind, he heard the quiet footsteps of Izzy as he came to stop beside him.

"What happened here?" Tai asked dumb-founded.

"Hmm," Izzy mused, his mind already swiftly at work on a half-formed hypothesis. "When Azulongmon gave up some of his power to help us fight in the real world… it might have caused the defenses of the Digital World to weaken and now the balance is thrown off."

"So it's… our fault?" This vast expanse of ruined devastation as far as the eye could see was all to blame because the Digidestined, its defenders, were not strong enough on their own to defeat the evil once again threatening to consume both worlds?

" _So fragile. So weak. You humans are pathetic."_

Had the Virus known what was happening to the Digital World? Had it already started to erode when the Digimon had unleashed chaos at Matt's concert? Had they held the humans responsible? Was that why they had attacked so viciously?

If was true then they had every right to be angry then, had every grounds to accuse them of being weak.

Something thumped him on top of his head without force that caused his hair to actually lay flat for three seconds before springing back upright in place. He turned to see Izzy frowning at him clutching a rolled-up paper in his hand.

"I absolutely forbid you to sulk for the entirety of our stay here," was the warning he received before the boy brushed past him, calling over his shoulder as he went. "You can be worse than Matt at that when you put your mind to it."

Okay, that was an insult that even Tai wouldn't say to his worst enemies. "I do not," he said petulantly as he trudged after him. They walked along in silence for at least fifteen minutes across the ruined landscape until Tai finally relented and questioned, "Do I?" worriedly when Izzy failed to reply.

"No, I'm sorry, that was an over-exaggeration," Izzy said with a hint of laughter in his voice. "No one sulks on the scale Matt does. I just wanted to snap you out of the mood before you fell in completely. Koromon needs to feel your support right now, not your anxiety over your self-esteem issues."

 _Koromon…_ Tai thought gazing down in pained remorse at his partner sleeping in his arms. _Look_ _what I've done to you._

"It wasn't your fault, you know," Izzy said suddenly, stopping in front of the entrance to a forest composed up of bare, skeletal trees and dropping his supply pack. "Not entirely at least."

"What do you mean?" Tai asked walking over and standing uncertainly at where camp was indicated to be made. He didn't like the idea of spending the night at the base of what looked like a creepy, haunted forest—oh, god, he _was_ losing his nerve if something so childish concerned him so much! Some Child of Courage he was.

"I mean it wasn't like you to back down in a situation like that especially if you had suspicions about something being wrong with Agumon," Izzy said coolly as he unpacked his laptop and looked him squarely in the eye. "That night at Matt's concert it wasn't only Agumon who had an unforeseen side affect—you got touched by a Bakemon's Dark Claw attack, didn't you?"

_A decaying clawed hand shooting out from underneath a Bakemon's cloak and wrapping itself around his neck in an icy cold grip… his lungs convulsing… the world growing fuzzy…_

"So what?" Tai asked the question catching him off guard.

"So it's not only an attack aimed at physically harming its victim. It also amplifies any doubts a person has in their hearts. I don't know what Agumon did or said this morning, but it obviously unnerved you enough that it prompted some small remnant of the attack to sweep over your mind—"

"Don't try and make me feel better, Izzy!" Tai snapped. "There's no excuse for what I did! None!"

"Fine, wallow in your own self-induced guilt if that's the only thing that will satisfy you!" Izzy shot back. "I wasn't trying to put the blame on something else for the purpose of easing your conscience. I was trying to prove a point that we all should be aware of for later battles: that the mental and internal attacks can be just as dangerous or perhaps even more than the physical ones. And that humans can be affected by them too, although they seem to differ slightly on us due to our anatomy. We should all be more careful in the future and not withhold information from each other."

There was a kind of quiet anger echoing in Izzy's voice faintly reminiscent of when Kari had been trapped in the Digital World and he had been left out of the rescue operation.

" _I expect to be treated with the same respect I give to all of you,"_ he had said back then.

Tai hadn't done the team any favors by keeping silent about Agumon's bevahior. The situation could have turned out a whole lot worse than what had happened. Yet he hadn't told Izzy when he had asked if anything was wrong and it wasn't just because he had been in denial that his own partner had threatened him.

It was because in order to tell Izzy about it, he would have had to explain what Agumon had said and reveal his and Jun's newfound relationship.

It wasn't that he was embarrassed about it. It was just that the others didn't know Jun like he had grown to. They had never seen all the multiple complex personalities the girl was capable of—the good as well as the bad. They would be on his case hounding him, giving him all sorts of reasons on how he had made a poor decision, thinking he was insane the minute they found out. Tai wanted to postpone all that for as long as possible. He wanted them to accept Jun. He wanted Jun to accept his friends. He was a long shot that wouldn't hit the mark so easily.

And yet… he had to tell _someone._ His relationship was affecting Agumon. What if it hadn't been just the Virus talking this morning? What if in some small measure Agumon felt as if he was being replaced in Tai's heart? It was abundantly clear that Agumon already thought he was of no more use as his partner.

There was no more point in trying to hide the fact.

Tai sat down heavily on a patch of dead grass and gave a weary sigh. "Jun and I are… um…" Well he couldn't exactly call it dating since they never had actually been on one. He wasn't sure if that night at the arcade counted since they weren't technically together then. He struggled for the right words. "Jun and I are…"

"A couple," Izzy finished as answering a fill in the blank question on a quiz.

Tai gaped at him. Izzy hadn't even sounded surprised. He didn't look it for that matter either. He was calmly unpacking his sleeping bag and the wrapped bentos his mom had made earlier for them. Then Izzy raised his eyes, caught sight of Tai's gob-smacked expression and looked as if he was refraining himself from laughing out loud.

"Well, you certainly aren't being very discreet about it," he said pointing to the charm bracelet on Tai's wrist.

It was one for thing for Davis to recognize an object that belonged to his sister. It was another thing for Izzy to do the same.

"How can you be so sure it isn't Kari's?" he asked covering the bracelet with his other hand.

"I know you care for your sister a lot, but I doubt it extends to wearing one of her accessories, regardless that you tried to force Matt to wear one. Plus, if it was Kari's bracelet I'm at a loss at why she would have the English letter 'J' as a charm on it. You'd think it'd be a 'T' or a 'D'," Izzy said grinning wryly.

"And I would kill them both after having a very long discussion with her," Tai growled before realizing his slip-up.

Izzy nodded satisfied that his assumption had been correct and Tai gnawed on his lower lip feeling unsure and wondering why his friend wasn't reacting more. "Well, aren't you going to try and convince me I'm out of my mind and demand an explanation for why I did something so crazy?" he asked.

"Do you believe that?"

"No," Tai said firmly.

"Then I can trust you know what you're doing and that you must really like her a great deal if you want to go out with her."

Tai was silent feeling grateful towards Izzy for his acceptance and hoped that the rest of his friends would be just as understanding. In his lap, one of Koromon's ears twitched, draping itself over his arm and Tai's muscles stiffened as he remembered his problem.

"I think…" he said slowly. "I think Agumon believes that I'm only humoring him by keeping him as a partner—that I don't need him anymore. I think he might feel like I will forget about him with Jun in the picture now." Tai related the Virus-induced outbursts Agumon had spoken that morning. "And you know the worst part?" he murmured feeling his chest constrict. "I don't think my throwing him aside or that he's not as strong as he used to be is even what is causing him so much pain. It's the fact that someday… I will die… and he can't do anything to stop it."

"Ah," Izzy said quietly, his head bent over the ring of stones he was building to prepare a bonfire. "He said as much the night of Matt's concert."

"It's strange…" Tai murmured absentmindedly stroking Koromon's ears, "once you realize that Digimon don't really die, do they? That they can reconfigure themselves like broken Lego pieces."

"Nice analogy but you're wrong."

"What?" Tai blinked. A shadow had passed over Izzy's face as his hands balled up into fists at his side noting his tension.

"There is a way Digimon can die," he declared lifting his eyes up and reflecting the sadness stored away in them. "Remember what happened to Wizardmon?"

Tai's stomach gave a sickening swoop as a jolt like lightning raced throughout his body. His eyes widened in horror. "His data got stuck in the real world so it wasn't able to reform at Primary Village," he whispered.

"Our world is just as dangerous to them as theirs is to us," Izzy proclaimed grimly.

All those times. All those times their Digimon had fought in the real world sometimes only grasping at victory by a hairsbreadth… only an inch away from being permanently deleted without the option to be reborn. Forced forever to roam as misconfigured remnants of data—what a lonely, wretched existence, if you even could deign to call it an existence at all.

The conversation lulled after that, no one really wanting to delve deeper on the subject finding it extremely depressing. Camp was set up swiftly and dinner eaten almost in silence, the battle from early that morning taking its toll out on them. Sleep came effortlessly, all of them too tired to even dream.

oOo

The next day began on a more cheery note than it had yesterday. No evil entities had ventured out of the skeletal forest during the night to devour their souls. A healthy shine had appeared back in Koromon's eyes overnight and the heavy weight of despair seemed to have lifted from him at least temporarily. They feasted on a hearty breakfast of rice porridge, _tamagoyaki_ and plum pickles. Mrs. Izumi's cooking still tasted good even at one day old. It was nice eating normally for once instead of having to fret about whether or not he would survive his mother's latest food invention. It would have made for a great camping trip if the scenery had been a bit more pleasant. Sometime mid-morning, Tentomon dropped out of the sky to join them. His enthusiasm at being reunited with Izzy and his merry banter seemed to lift everyone's spirits and provided adequate company for Koromon long enough for Izzy to take advantage and catch Tai unawares.

"Here, spend your time doing something useful," Izzy said dropping several books at his friend's feet without warning.

"What's this?" Tai asked picking up a book and leafing through its contents before dropping it like a red hot chili pepper. "I can't believe you!" he exclaimed shooting a glare at him. "How can you honestly expect me to write an essay on Plato's Ideals right now?"

"Your mind could use the exercise. It should be a convenient method to distract yourself from brooding too much."

"How do you even have the correct homework assignments? You're not in my Literature class let alone my grade!"

"My Literature teacher recommended me to Takashi-sensei after I corrected him on the proper usage of asyndeton and alliteration in front of the entire class. Something about my deserving to be in 'that idiot's honors courses and get taught a real lesson', though I wasn't supposed to hear that last part. It's a total sham—the honors course for the first years is simply the same material you juniors are learning for the semester. However, this did allow me the opportunity to ensure you wouldn't fall behind on your studies." Upturning his backpack, Izzy unloaded a pile of notebooks and folders into his lap.

"I hate you… _so much,"_ Tai gritted out through his teeth.

"You're welcome," Izzy beamed cheerily, sounding far too smug for his own good.

And so for the remainder of his short vacation was spent in grueling conditions where Tai racked his brain desperately for even the smallest seed of inspiration but nothing came. To be quite honest, he wondered how far Izzy had actually read into the material if he thought it would help take his mind off of the bleak circumstances that surrounded them. If anything, Plato's theories could have played cheerleader to the thoughts swirling around the back of his head like a violent typhoon.

Plato, for a dead, ancient Greek guy, seemed to have postulated the theory that reality was divided into two: the idea or ideal. That ultimate reality was permanent, eternal, spiritual. On the other hand, there was phenomena, which was a manifestation of the ideal. Phenomena were appearances—things as they looked to people—and were associated with matter, time, and space. Phenomena were illusions which decay and die. Ideals were unchanging, perfect.

The blatant parallel between humans and Phenomena and Ideals and Digimon was almost too blunt to handle. It made Tai wonder if Plato had ever stumbled upon a rogue gateway to the Digital World and Digimon that resided there the way his theories were worded so carefully.

His assignment certainly wasn't easing the stress and worry he had bottled up inside about what happened to Digimon once their human partners had died. It was merely amplifying those volatile emotions.

So it was hardly surprising that by the end of the day he only had the title of the essay typed out on Izzy's precious laptop that he had generously donated to him.

"' _Plato's Ideals'_? That's all you have typed?" Izzy exclaimed looking over his shoulder at the blank Word document. "What were you doing this whole time? Playing Minesweeper?"

"Forget it. I'm not writing this bogus essay. I'll just take the 'F'," Tai declared uncurling from his cross-legged position on the ground. His knees unlocked as he stood and his spine made a small cracking sound as it straightened which he hoped was the result from someone sitting so long hunched over and not his fractured vertebrae acting up.

He heard the sound of protest starting from within Izzy's throat and interjected him abruptly. "Please tell me you have seen the similarities also and I'm not just reading too much into things."

Izzy picked up a book that Tai had been using for potential reference quotes and noted the pages that had been dog-eared and the passages printed on them. Looking chagrined, he rubbed his temple with one hand and sighed. "I had forgotten about this particular theory. I did my essay on Plato's dichotomy between the body and soul. Sorry."

"You'll understand why I don't really want to hear anymore about what the old coot had to say or formulize then," Tai said walking over to check on Koromon who was snuggled up in his sleeping bag, a symphony of snores resounding in the air around him.

"Tai, I know you're worried about the future. We all are, but—"

"But what? Just accept it and move on with what's left of our lives? What about them? We'll be gone and they'll be left behind with an eternity to spend alone with memories that will only make them miserable!" A dull headache had formed between his eyes. Exhaustion came crashing down on him like a tidal wave. He flopped down beside Koromon feeling drained and stared out into the distance.

The sun was setting in the sky casting a fiery-red glow upon the dead blackened land below. It looked as if blood were seeping through the crust and staining the surface of the entire Digital World.

He wasn't sure if he was more relieved or disappointed when Izzy tactfully retreated from the argument striving to occur in order to avoid provoking him further. That for once, for all his and his position as the Chosen Child of Knowledge, Izzy had no response he could think of or any advice to give.

oOo

_It was like being lost inside a funhouse. A world composed of eerie distorted colors that bent in and out of focus._

" _Taiii… I won't let you down ever again… I can be strong now…"_

_Suddenly, a face formed out of the blackness—green eyes filmed over in death but still blazed just as fiercely, bleached white bones connecting to a monolith, corpselike dinosaur._

_Horrified and appalled, he backed away but there was nowhere for him to go—he couldn't find his center on the ground that was tilting precariously from side to side like a giant see-saw beam._

" _This is what you wanted," a voice hissed out of the depths of the gaping jaws. "Power. Don't deny it."_

_SkullGreymon reached out one elongated, skeletal claw towards him and the shadows danced gleefully as they expanded, ready to engulf him into never-ending darkness…_

Tai shot upwards panting, his face and shoulders covered in sweat. Next to him, Koromon shifted and murmured incoherently in his sleep.

Dawn had barely arrived, with only the tiniest scraps of light tinting the eastern horizon. Running his hands through his hair and over his face, Tai exhaled shakily.

Just a dream. Just a nightmare, he tried to tell himself.

But he couldn't help but think that was the Digital World's way of reminding him that whenever the Digidestined had tried help out, they essentially caused even bigger blunders than before.

The air around him felt heavy and tight like the moment before a bolt of lightning strikes the ground from a thunderstorm.

Standing up, Tai stumbled away from the campsite, dead grass crunching under his feet as he made his way to the creek bed to splash water on his face. It was only when he reached it and the empty bowel filled his vision did he remember the state of the Digital World.

A cool breeze whipped through the air, wafting across his face like silken cobweb strands, whispering accusations in his ear…

Dust swirled up in brown little clouds a few feet away in front of him as the dry, crumbling ground was trod upon. Tai glanced up thinking it was Izzy joining him.

The figure stood tall, camouflaged so completely into the monochrome background that only the tell-tale rays of the early morning light gleaming off the obsidian and silver armor revealed his identity...

BlackWarGreymon stood on the opposite side of the empty bank staring at him with calculating golden eyes much like a wolf that has stumbled upon its quarry quite by accident and was debating whether or not he was in the mood for sport.

Tai felt the coldness tighten around his chest as his limbs locked into place rooting him to the spot. His mind spun wildly assessing the situation, possibilities of what his next move should be to escape his current predicament rushed forward.

His options were very limited. He could either turn tail and run—run like a coward—back to the encampment and hope by some miracle that either BlackWarGreymon decided he didn't like fast food or in the off-chance that he might, hope that Koromon and Tentomon had the strength to fight him. Yeah, right.

Or he could stay and face him, find out what he wanted. Agumon had talked to him before. He stoutly defended that he wasn't all bad.

Option two weighed out as the better choice. The old mentality "if it runs, it's prey" was bludgeoning its way all about the inside of his skull with a kind of frantic repentance and he really didn't feel like disproving it.

So Tai refused to back down and remained where he stood not moving a muscle for what seemed like an eternity returning the Mega Digimon's assessing gaze and wondering how long it would take for one of them to cave into doing something first.

Stoic as ever, BlackWarGreymon slowly lifted one dangerously-sharp armored claw… and pointed in the direction of the camp in the distance.

"That Koromon," he said. "It was once an Agumon was it not? We conversed before."

Tai said nothing though he knew he should. Say something, anything to keep BlackWarGreymon distracted from the fact that he had essentially wandered onto a nest of sitting targets, but his throat seemed to have lost what little moisture it had left.

BlackWarGreymon's eyes narrowed underneath his horned helmet at the lack of response to his question. "You are one of those human children," he spoke with deliberate composure as if addressing a particularly dim-witted sheep. "You fight so hard to preserve the state of this world and yet your quest has been in vain." Golden pupils swiveled to and fro at their ruined surroundings. "You seem to be doing an inadequate job."

"Yeah, well if you cared about it so much, you should have thought twice before going on a Destiny Stone destroying spree!" Tai shot back carelessly, his pride stinging from the verbal smack.

He hated this. Of having any shred of control ripped from his grasp. Of being completely helpless like a mouse caught between a cat's paws. All it would take was one swift swipe of those claws to cut his life short…

"I? Care?" BlackWarGreymon seemed to find that notion extremely amusing. "How can one who does not possess a heart care for something? It is not possible. This world does not concern me for it holds no answers." Disdain had colored BlackWarGreymon's tone quite thickly. "Let it all dissolve into nothing." The Mega Digimon turned to leave appearing to have lost interest in the conversation. Tai felt the tightness in his chest dissipate ever so slightly.

BlackWarGreymon halted in his tracks and tilted his horned helmet sideways suddenly, his slit-pupiled eyes swiveling towards him, holding a questioning light. "Azulongmon said that every life has a purpose, a meaning to their existence. Do you know what yours is?"

Confusion attempted to envelope his mind. Tai struggled valiantly to push it back. This was not the time to lose composure. He had a feeling if he didn't answer the question to BlackWarGreymon's satisfaction, he would be grinded into dust beneath the Digimon's feet. Clearing his throat, he spoke in what he hoped was a strong voice, "I'm a Digidestined—"

" _Don't_ give me such a trite answer as _that."_ BlackWarGreymon cut him off abruptly, taking a warning step towards him. _"_ I am not one of those weaklings that you have rescued and therefore feel compelled to worship you out of pure gratitude."

Tai's breath froze in his lungs. His tongue felt as if it were stuck to the roof of his mouth, every instinct inside him screaming for him to run as far and fast away as possible. But numbness seemed to have hijacked his nervous system.

"You were made to be a protector of this world and its inhabitants be it by Fate or the Digital Sovereigns or whatever you want to call it just as I was made to be its destroyer." BlackWarGreymon said stepping closer. "Let's both forget our origins for a short while and pretend we are creators of our own destiny." Another step. "If you had never been burdened with this role that has been placed on you, would you still know which path would lead you to your purpose, the reason for your existence?" And then he was directly in front of him gazing down with such intensity that Tai felt like he was drowning in twin pools of liquid gold. They were bright enough that he could see his own reflection: a tall, scrawny not-yet full-grown human with wild, unkempt hair and a frightened expression upon his face.

He felt disoriented. He had never given it much thought—about what his life would be like if he had never been chosen as a Digidestined, never had met Agumon, never had saved both their worlds. What would he be doing right now if he were an ordinary kid? He had often said he wanted to be a pro-soccer player, but really that was a dream, just like any kid often wished they could be a famous movie star. There had been an arrogant, vain pride he had never noticed he possessed before towards the fact that he was a Chosen Child and now to think what it would be like to have the title stripped from him terrified him more than being confronted by BlackWarGreymon at the moment.

oOo

" _Keep your precious monsters all to yourself! You think you're someone special because you have one? You think_ _it makes you a better_ _person?"_

oOo

This was how Jun must feel, Tai realized. An outcast, alone, floundering in the harsh sea that was the normalcy of life, fighting against the waves that threatened to drag her under, and clinging to a fragile dream, her life-line to surviving.

To be no different than anybody else, not to stand out or know he was special… would he still know the reason for his existence? To find his purpose?

BlackWarGreymon's patience had run thin at his silence. "You don't even know, do you?" he scoffed in contempt. "I cannot believe a heart would be wasted on someone like you."

The Mega turned quick on his heel, demonstrating that the discussion was now over. From behind, he looked no different than WarGreymon, the only discrepancies being his darker coloring and glaring lack of the symbol of Courage that the onyx shield he carried upon his back was so abysmally devoid of.

The sight jarred Tai's senses fully awake.

How dare he come and subject him to an interrogation and assume he could answer such bizarre questions. How dare he come and cause doubt to infiltrate his already distressed mind. How dare he come and make him feel like he didn't deserve to be a Digidestined!

A cool rage swelled up inside him. His muscles contracted as tiny shivers of anger shook throughout his body. Before he knew it, he had already scrambled down the bank, across the empty creek-bed and up the other side without thinking.

"Don't act so condescending!" he shouted in a blind fury. "Don't you know that to have a heart means it's never fully yours to begin with? You have to be prepared to give it away before you can ever truly own one!"

Far too late, after the words were already spoken, did the full gravity of what he had just done wash over him. Tai stood there in a state of dread amazed at his own recklessness. He had just pounded the final nail into his own coffin. Who mouths off to BlackWarGreymon and lives?

BlackWarGreymon had paused in his progression to leave, his golden eyes widening in bewilderment. He seemed rattled to the core. "Your words… make no sense," he finally said though there was a subtle reservation in his tone. The Mega gave him one last glance over as if doing a double take, as if trying to figure this puny, inferior human out. "Your Agumon said something of a similar kind not long ago." His gaze hardened. "I think you both a pair of fools."

He lifted into the sky with a mighty flurry of his wings and soared high up into the breaking dawn. With the splendor of its golden colors reflecting off his obsidian armor, he resembled WarGreymon for the briefest of moments before his silhouette was swallowed up by the sun.

Tai fell backwards against the dead grass as his legs gave out underneath him and placed one hand over his chest where he could feel the wild thumping of his heart inside his ribcage pumping out blood frantically to join the adrenalin that was coursing through his veins.

That was he was found a half hour later still sitting in the same spot. He could hear the quiet padding of the Digimon's feet long before they reached him, but he wasn't alarmed. Over the years, he had grown accustomed to the sound of the familiar gait.

Agumon, having at last drawn in enough energy to digivolve, came to stand next to him. His nostrils gave a tiny twitch as they inhaled the air. "You met him," he said happily.

There was no need to ask who _he_ was. "Yes," Tai said staring up into the space of sky where BlackWarGreymon had vanished.

Surprisingly, Agumon didn't ask what their conversation had been about. "What did you think of him?" the orange dinosaur asked sounding eagerly curious.

"I think he needs to read Plato's Ideals to find the answers he's seeking."

_To Be Continued…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Me ten years later editing this fic and cackling at BlackWarGreymon* Shut up, DarkBroodingmon, in a few chapters you're gonna get boot-camped into understanding the true meaning of "pack-bonding!" 
> 
> mUwahAHAhahA

**Author's Note:**

> THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A HUMOROUS ONE-SHOT. LOOK AT THE MONSTROSITY I HAVE CREATED. Oh, well, I love it anyway. It's fun to see how it has evolved since I first started writing this.
> 
> I had trouble deciding where to place this in the Digimon storyline. I wanted to put this in the year following the end of 02 (just before the Epilogue). But I didn't want to deal with the whole world knowing about Digimon and having partners yet. I wanted Mimi in the story too, not over in America and I wanted everyone except Joe (because he goes to a private school) in the same high school. I faced a problem there. Canon-wise Jun is either a junior or a senior. She really is three years older than the 01 gang and if they were in high school, she would have been in college already. There's a reason the English dub made the Digidestined five years older not three like in the original and I think it's because they didn't like the idea of Jun chasing after someone who was in his second year in junior high school. Also, Japanese high schools are different than American. They only have three years not four and they start the school year in spring not fall. I'm not sure Jun could transfer schools so easily and late into the year here, but I'm taking artistic license.
> 
> So I shall state here and now: this fic is officially an AU of the timeline in 02. Mimi is an exchange student from America (I'll try and make that more clear in the next chapter). I had to boot the kids ages up a little, ugh.
> 
> Ages: Jun=17, Joe=17, Matt, Tai, Sora=16, Izzy, Mimi=15, Yolei=13, Ken, Davis, TK, Kari=12, Cody=10
> 
> *Edit ten years later lol* realizing that the younger kids should be in middle school maybe except Cody, but *jazz hands* plot hole! It's too long to fix now. Carry on my lovely readers, to the next chap!


End file.
